The Four Top Secrets of Business Development and Risk Management

Everyone loves a winner! In the business world, theValue for Money
more money you make, the more effective andSuccessful business people think, apply that
successful you and your business become. Thisknowledge and deliver a product or service that they
truism is consistently born out by top businessknow customers actually want and benefit from.
owners who take their ideas to market. But whatObviously, there is no use in having the world's
are their secrets? Invariably, their success is thegreatest idea if nobody wants it. There have been
natural outcome of effective business developmentcountless stories told of the follies of individuals who
and risk management. They accomplish this byhad what they thought was a brilliant solution to a
following the four steps outlined below.problem that nobody else appreciated. Great
1. Think About It!amounts of time and energy, as well as investment
All business activity begins with having an idea.capital, have gone into whacky inventions that
Successful business people are thinking all the timenobody wanted. Business development and risk
about their business and how they can take it to themanagement are addressed by focusing on what the
next level of development. In his classic book, "Thinkcustomer wants and needs.
and Grow Rich," Napoleon Hill starts at this very point4. Develop Your Character
when divulging his findings about successfulThis character building is achieved by developing
businessmen, such as Andrew Carnegie. In fact, hisyourself in and around the steps mentioned above,
book title starts with the word "THINK."ie, thinking, doing and knowing. This element of
In business however, thinking is never divorced fromcharacter building in successful people seems to occur
knowing and doing. These three processes ofas a direct result of the activities that they engage in
thinking, knowing and doing feed on and fold back onand the endeavours that they pursue.
each other in a never-ending cycle of focusingThe characteristics of successful business people
energy and productivity.include; courage and audacity, persistence, resolve,
2. Focus on Customer Needsdetermination, building relationships with others,
Successful business people take their ideas to thethinking team and believing that they are not alone in
next stage of satisfying a customer need or want. Allthe world, curiosity, always learning, "street smarts"
of their thinking is channeled into supplying a product(seeing the angles), being responsible and being
or service that will address a problem that people areresponsive.
experiencing. Customers will pay money for a productSo, in summary, the four steps followed by top
if it solves a problem and therefore helps them tobusiness owners and leaders to ensure effective
achieve their goals.business development and risk management are:
In the 1870's gold rush era, the entrepreneurs who- They think - this thinking is never divorced from
often made the most money were not the goldaction
miners, but the business people who supplied the- They are customer-need focused - what does the
shovels and mining equipment. These enterprisingcustomer really need?
individuals did not rely on building wealth by merely- They deliver value for money - the investment
striking it lucky. They thought about theirmade fixes the problem
opportunities and then applied their knowledge in a- They build their reputation - happens as a
manner that ensured that they would become verybyproduct of being constantly involved in the first
rich indeed.three endeavours.
3. Develop Your Reputation by Consistently Delivering