Benjamin Chong's Blog

Why People Fail

Success. It’s what so many people strive for. It’s been the subject of much study in recent years. Think of all of those personal development courses, CDs, tape sets, and books. Recall the sports psychologists during the recent Olympics. What about the business coaches walking in and out of office buildings every day.

But what about studying why people fail?

My good friend, Siimon Reynolds, has just released a new book that deals with this very notion. Why People Fail outlines sixteen common obstacles of success and how you can overcome them. Whether it’s stress, mistaking IQ for EQ, low energy levels, or a lack of persistence, Siimon explores why people fail and provides ideas on overcoming them. I particularly liked his chapter on daily rituals. Whether it’s clearing your desk, prayer, learning a new language, or planning for tomorrow, by incorporating these tasks into daily rituals, you can make a significant impact on your life over a period of time.

So if you’d like to get some great tips on avoiding failure, get a copy and read it.

I’ve recently been observing the communication methods of some great leaders and a common thread is their use of repetition. That’s right, a common thread is their use of repetition. (Okay, I’ll get my hand off it.)

When you think of charismatic American leaders, who comes to mind? Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy, and even William Jefferson Clinton. All of them used repetition in their speeches to get their point across. Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech used phrases and images that King had finessed over years of public speaking. John F Kennedy Even today’s American President has made use of the “yes, we can” refrain over, and over, and over. (Stop it!) Australian politicians have also found a fondness for repetition. You knew Paul Keating was making a point when he repeated the last sentence.

Successful business leaders, too, have made use of repetition to get their point across. Jack Welch had a saying of being simple, being consistent, and hammering your message home. That’s why he produced a wallet-sized card containing all of GE’s values. Wal-Mart’s founder, Sam Walton, repeated his company’s values again and again.

Repetition doesn’t need to happen in the same sentence. It doesn’t need to happen in the same talk or speech. But, if you’re wanting to get your point across, repetition (and consistency) over time will help ensure people get what you mean.

All investors would like to think they make good decisions. Many think that by performing the right type of analysis or due diligence, they’ll be able to get more information about an investment target and so make a better assessment about whether or not to invest. So what about venture capitalists?

A recent article in The Economist reports investors have a voracious appetite to throw money into venture capital (VC) funds focussed on promising start-ups. Marc Andreessen, one of the founders of Netscape Communications, announced in early July 2009 that he and his business partner had raised over $300m to invest in start-ups and it was oversubscribed. What’s interesting is that a month earlier, the Kauffman Foundation released a study concluding the US venture capital industry must shrink for it to be viable in the long-term. It found the industry has been stagnating, producing declining returns, and has grown far too big.

Although firms such as Google, Home Depot, Microsoft, and Starbucks were venture-backed, less than 20% of the fastest-growing comanies in the US had venture investors. In fact, only 16% of around 900 companies in the sample had venture capital backing. Further, the returns from the venture industry is 10% below a leading listed small-cap index on a ten year timeframe.

So there you have it, too much money trying to find the next big idea. Once investors wake up to the fact that the industry has not been producing spectacular returns, and has been charging a small fortune as a management fee, it’s inevitable they will reallocate their investments to other asset classes. The question is how long will it take?