The Business Book

(Joyce) #1

42


See also: Beating the odds at start-up 20–21 ■ Gaining an edge 32–39 ■
Understanding the market 234–41 ■ Forecasting 278–79

L


uck is usually regarded
as something over which
businesses have no control.
Yet, as McDonald’s CEO Ray Kroc
said, “the more you sweat, the
luckier you get,” suggesting that luck
can be created. The reality is that
both are true. As global markets
become more volatile and less
predictable, luck plays an inevitable
part in business success. Launch a
start-up at the same time as a rival
and it may be luck that determines
who succeeds, and who fails.

Making your own luck
A well-considered business plan is
designed to dispense with reliance
on luck. A good idea, underpinned
by detailed market research and
solid financial planning, may help
a start-up to ride the whims of the
market. A good plan charts a course
of action in turbulent markets,
protects against the unknown,
and prepares the company
for contingencies.
In addition, a well-conceived plan
can ensure that a company is in a
position to benefit from favorable

market conditions. In other words,
what might seem like luck is often
the result of planning. Take the
famous example of 3M Post-it Notes.
The invention of a reusable glue was
accidental, but it was business
insight that turned the lucky
discovery into a commercial success.
With so many variables, luck is
likely to play a part in the survival of
a start-up. But a good plan reduces
how much luck a company needs. ■

L U C K I S A D I V I D E N D


O F S W E A T. T H E M O R E


Y O U S W E A T , T H E


L U C K I E R Y O U G E T


LUCK (AND HOW TO GET LUCKY)


IN CONTEXT


FOCUS
Maximizing opportunity

KEY DATES
1974 3M employee Art Fry
uses the adhesive developed—
and rejected as defective—by
a colleague six years earlier
to attach a bookmark in his
hymnbook. This chance usage
leads to the Post-it Note.

2009 A Harvard Business
Review article “Are ‘Great’
Companies Just Lucky?”
reports that in only half of the
287 high-performing companies
surveyed could success be
attributed to distinguishable
practices or features of the
organizations themselves.

2013 Five years’ hard work
yields music group Daft Punk’s
aptly titled song “Get Lucky”. A
result of industry collaboration,
market research, and strong
marketing and publicity, the
song’s commercial success
demonstrates the value of
business planning.

The first rule of luck in
business is that you should
persevere in doing the right
thing. Opportunities will
come your way if you do.
Ronald Cohen
UK venture capitalist (1945 –)
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