Two guys met up
They discovered they shared more than a few business war stories.
Importantly, they enjoyed each other’s company – and found they were each massive fans of ‘The Long Way Round’ and ‘Long Way Down’, with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.
They shared views on why some businesses are extremely successful, whilst the majority struggle. And they were really concerned as to why, in spite of most owners and managers being dedicated, competent people, the majority of businesses fail in their first five years.
They thought, “Surely fixing existing businesses makes far more sense and is more worthwhile than simply motivating people to start yet more new ones?” Success Mapping was born out of the result of their collaboration.
Those Two Guys
We’re Andrew Priestley and David Robson.
Over the years we’ve started, built, bought and turned around more than a few businesses. Sadly, we’ve also seen people with business concepts that were fundamentally sound, go on to stress-out and often struggle to survive.
Anyone who’s run a business understands that challenges and risks come with the territory – as with success and failure. Some plans are a great success – others simply bomb and you learn.
Between the two of us we discovered that we’ve a pool of knowledge that really is ‘down to the metal’. We knew both the reality and theory.
Not only that, we had always, in very different ways, got a big buzz from pitching in and supporting others resolve their particular business issues. We’d collectively learned a huge amount, not just from formal studies but, far more importantly, by . . .
- Taking a raw idea, turning it into a business and growing it with a great crew of people.
- Turning a struggling software company into an international listed company with a capitalisation of $120m
- Buying an insolvent entertainment business, because it was fun, making $ multiple millions – and then losing them!
- Designing and developing award winning business management applications that are in regular use around the world
- Building a global executive coaching business
- Mentoring and working with others to build or restore their businesses – from sorting growth strategies, re-engineering their business model, solving marketing, through to preparing for investment.
We Set Off on a Mission (really sorry about that cliché)
During those two years, we pooled all our knowledge and hard won experience. We carefully analysed what lay behind our own successes and the many people we’d worked with.
And of course we naturally codified what had caused our setbacks. Knowing what to do is important, but knowing what not to do is sometimes pure gold!
Working with some VC funds had also provided valuable knowledge as to the major fundamentals of what make one business successful compared others who struggle in the same market. Why a business can find suddenly itself exposed and vulnerable.
Coaching and mentoring other businesses. Intervening to re-engineer core business models meant that we’d been at the heart of both successful and struggling businesses.
Our real world experience, research and analysis led us to the same conclusions:
- too many business leaders and managers actually did not grasp the true nature of their own business!
- most business owners are actually working in their businesses, rather than running them – they have ‘jobs’, working for the very business they founded!
- most focus is on moment-to-moment survival rather than growth.
- the vast majority of them were competent and intelligent people.
- in the majority of under performing or struggling businesses most of the raw material for success was actually already there.
Where We Were Headed
We knew this situation could be put right.
One way was to – in very simple terms – ‘fix’ them one by one.
In the past we’ve each separately helped a number of businesses in this way.
Here’s What We Actually Did
However we chose a much better way. One that not only re-engineered a business but also equipped its management to ‘work the turn around’ themselves!
As well as reaching a greater community, this had the advantage of ensuring that business owners and managers were more likely to continue with and even leverage these gains.
The principles and methods of building, managing and growing a successful business actually form a multi-dimension map. It’s that multi-dimension nature of a successful business that most owners and managers don’t recognise nor work to their advantage. It requires a break with linear management thinking and a shift to what we call a 3D management mindset.
This is the story behind our decision to form Success Mapping, put our money where our mouths were and invest in the development of actual systems and tools that can be used to transform business success.
The first of these is Success in 80 Days, which we describe as ‘Business Turn Around in a Box’.
This is How We Went About It
We distilled our practical experience into a methodology that makes sophisticated principles and techniques extremely easy to grasp and to apply – and as an integral part of daily management.
Firstly we proved the core principles of this methodology in a short series of workshops with owners and managers from a variety of businesses.
To ensure this system would immediately start to produce paybacks, we included a set of easy to use tools and techniques embodied in a progam of step-by-step action. The program is self-paced and self-managed.
So we were enabling any business owner or manager to implement their own business turn around. Hence the term ‘business turn around in a box’. By the way, it really does come in a big box and is a self-paced, DIY package of mixed-media tools.
We Think It’s Unique – And Right Now, It Could Be Just What You Need
We’ve done quite a bit of searching and have yet to find anything comparable. We’re confident that whatever your business you’ll gain a radically different perspective of it and be able to transform its performance, sooner rather than later.
It’s Not as Cheap as an iPhone App!
Sorry to appear flippant.
But we think you’d probably agree that there is a tendency these days for some business people to look for the newest and latest gizmo to solve their problems – automatically. Their investment priorities seem more than a little skewed – they believe an iPad is a better buy than the transformation of their business and skill-set.
How much would you expect to invest in a project that successfully turned your business around? And would you be prepared to commit to doing some work on it?
But go ahead . . . no charge to take a look >>
Want To Partner With Us?
Do you market services to business owners and managers? Perhaps you provide coaching, consulting, mentoring or training services.
If you work with many businesses that often struggle to grow or even survive, it could be that by transforming their fortunes, you’d help transform your own.
But how difficult is it to convince such a business that the wisest course of action is pay you to spend time with them? You probably know that you are not the only one attempting to do this.
There’s never been as many coaches, consultants and other advisors. They’re all trying to get the attention of owner-managers and it’s pretty rough to differentiate.
We’re presently finishing something that could be pretty useful to you in that respect and also bring in very respectable revenues as well.
In workshops of our own, as well as one to one with individuals, we discovered that the gains to be obtained from the Success in 80 Days program are massively leveraged with mentored direction and support.
Your clients would still get the complete mixed-media kit, but the mentored program delivers a lot more – especially with the energy you can foster in small mentor groups.
Have a look at what we’re putting together, we think this will definitely get you thinking >>