Mastering the Art of Success(^)
WRIGHT
So if you could pick only three key ingredients of successful
entrepreneurship, what would they be?
DALY
I’ve had the opportunity to look back in the rearview mirror of life,
David, and I think that knowing where you’re trying to go is so
valuable. In a word, that would be “vision.” A second key is key
people in key spots because, as we all know, you can’t do it all by
yourself. Then the third, and maybe most important of all, is culture,
which has to do with the environment you create in your business in
such a way th at people inside the company look forward to the journey.
WRIGHT
Would y ou break each one of those down for our readers into more
detail, perhaps beginning with vision?
DALY
When I talk about vision I don’t necessarily mean a mission
statement or values, albeit those are important. I’m looking at
something grander, something bigger, something that was the
motivation for the entrepreneur to get excited about taking the leap of
risk into building their business. There was something that caused that
individual to step up. There was a vision—I’ll call it a painted picture—
something very visible and indicated that it was worth risking it all,
going out there and making it happen. I use the words “magnetic” and
“compelling”—something to get people inside the company and outside
the company excited about what the company is a ll about.
When I think about a vision, I’m looking f or something that is down
the road and yet something I can transfer over to the rest of the
workforce that gets them equally excited. It’s the vision that gets us
through the tough patches that we are bound to run into as we go
about our entrepreneurial journey and build our business. The potholes
along the freeway are easily overcome by a magnetic, compelling vision.
A second part of that vision is to tell people in the company not only
what the vision is but how the company makes money and what its role