What does ‘Success’ mean to you?

Does success simply mean money to you? Or does it have a broader social significance?

The goal of any entrepreneur is to be successful. The possibility of success is what drives us forward and it is a measure of our achievement. It is a difficult concept to define because it is complex. It may be measured by numbers alone, but also by softer, qualitative criteria. (Wickham, P.A.  (2004) Strategic Entrepreneurship. FT Prentice Hall)

Success is something that is visible in public but also experienced at a personal level. It can be best understood in terms of four interacting aspects:

1.    Performance of the Venture
2.    People who have Expectations from the Venture
3.    The Nature of those Expectations
4.    Actual Outcomes relative to Expectations

The performance of a venture is indicated by a variety of quantitative measures. These relate to its financial performance and the place it creates for itself in the marketplace.  The indicators can also be compared to the performance of competitors. Such performance measures relate to the business or company as a whole.

However, a business is made up of individual people and it is crucial for success to be also experienced by them. If you want to be successful then first your business has to be successful. The business creates the resources which interested individuals can use to improve their lives. The individuals who have an interest in the business are its stakeholders (e.g. entrepreneur, employees, customers, suppliers, investors, society, etc.). So, the success of the venture must be considered in relation to the expectations its stakeholders have for it.

The performance of the venture as a business provides the means by which individual stakeholders can fulfill their own goals. Personal goals exist at three levels:
1. Economic - monetary rewards.
2.  Social - fulfilling relationship with other people.
3. Self-development - the achievement of personal intellect and spiritual satisfaction and growth.

Success experienced at a personal level is not complete. It is recognized by comparing actual outcomes to prior expectations. It is achieved if outcomes meet expectations and is ensured if expectations are exceeded. However, if expectations are not met than a sense of failure will emerge.

For me, success is relative. It is being able to achieve what I want to achieve in a given period of time, but failure is a big part it. I see failure as not the opposite of success but as one of the stages on the way to success - and I know this will help me achieve success, both in business and life.

Clearly success means different things to different people. You must be absolutely clear in your mind as to what success means to you. As the entrepreneur it is your responsibility to think of success for your business as a whole (not just for yourself!). Once you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve, you will be that much closer to achieving it.

Also read:

• Warren Buffetts’s Secrets to Success
• Success factors for a New Venture
• The ‘F’ Word
  

Tagged as: business success, entrepreneurship, understanding success in business