The 6 Things You Need to Know to be Great in Business

There are no shortcuts in business.  In order to be successful there are some things that you must know.  These are not all of them by a long shot, but IMHO they are 6 of the most important

1. Know how to sell.

Selling means being able to convey why your product or service, which may be you if you are looking for a job,  will make things better. Selling is never about convincing. It is always about helping.

2. Put yourself in the shoes of your customer

If you know how to put the person you are dealing with in a position to succeed, you can be successful. In order to do this, you must be able to quickly understand the needs and demands of that person and those of the company(s) they work for or with.  Every person and industry is different.  This is something that comes from investing incredible amounts of time to understand different industries , businesses, roles, and what has made them work and not work.

It is a never ending process of learning about what companies need.  What people in those companies need and how they work. If you don’t understand what it takes to make the people and companies you work with better, you don’t understand how to be successful

3.  Know as much as you can about technology

The beautiful thing about technology is that it changes every day.  Look at any tech you can see today or have ever seen. Any tech you have read about. It was invented by someone(s). They know the product better than everyone.  On the day that it is released, you are as knowledgeable about that  technology as anyone else in the world.  From there its just about effort to keep learning.

If you are one of the few people that know the new technologies, you are in a unique position to put yourself in the shoes of your customer(s) and determine if the new technology can be of benefit.  New technologies enable change and where there is change there is opportunity.  Its up to you to figure out  what that opportunity is.

4.  Always ask how you would design a solution if no current solution existed.

99.99pct of the things we do in business are being done the way they have always been done. No one has re imagined how things should be done.  That is what successful people do.  Every situation they are in they take their knowledge of the business or situation they are visiting, whether its buying a deck of playing cards,  eating at a restaurant or trying to solve a problem and think about how to re invent it.  They dont ask people what they would want. They envision a complete reapplication . Then they decide what to do with what they just recreated.

5. Is it the path of least resistance to something better.

Lots of people come up with ways of doing things that they think are great/amazing. What they fail to ask is whether it will make anyone else’s life better or easier. The simple test of any imagineering of a process or situation is simple. Is this the path of resistance  to a better place for the user ? Yes or No.

6. Be nice. 

People hate dealing with people who are jerks.  It’s always easier to be nice than to be a jerk .  Don’t be a jerk

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5 Phrases Every Leader Should Overuse

As the leader of a startup, you have to deal with a never-ending series of issues. Startup CEOs must motivate the rest of the team, establish a company culture, and find a way to keep everyone together.

When stepping into a leadership position, it's easy to become overwhelmed. To help, here are five phrases that you should repeat as often as possible. Use these phrases as guidelines for decision making, and you'll become much more effective as a leader.

1. "I trust your judgment."

When your team members are facing hard decisions, there will be plenty of times when they come to you looking for a solution. While your natural tendency will be to tell your team what to do, it is better to let them make decisions themselves. It is your responsibility to help your team grow; if you always have the final say in everything, you prevent it from growing.

2. "I don't know."

As people step into leadership roles, there is pressure for them to act like they know everything. Many times, leaders will push an idea on their team or convince themselves that they have to know the answer to everything. This is a disastrous way to lead a company. As a leader, you have to be the first one to admit that you do not know everything. Members of your team may think that by admitting they're unsure of something, they are doing something wrong. This not only prevents them from improving, but also builds a company culture that won't allow people to make mistakes. When you show that it's OK not to know the answer to everything, your team will have much better communication and trust.

3. "What did we learn from this?"

Being a leader is a roller coaster ride, especially in a startup. One day your company is booming and the next you're almost out of business. Mistakes are happening and many times your team is facing obstacles for the first time. When things go sour, it is your job to make sure your team is taking full advantage of its failures. Instead of getting angry with team members, take a step back and ask your team what they've learned from their mistakes. Don't answer this question for them. Instead, give them time to think about what the root cause of the problem was, and how to prevent it the next time. When you do this, you not only prevent future mistakes, but you also keep your team motivated to take future risks.

4. "I'll take care of it."

The ideal situation for a leader is to recruit a team where every member is smarter than than the leader. Then, when faced with tough decisions, they can delegate to the best person on the team. With that said, there are times where you will be the only one on the team that can take care of a problem. When these situations occur, you need to tell your team you'll handle the problem, and to do whatever it takes to execute. Startups are anything but stable, which is why, as the leader, you have to be the one person upon whom everyone on the team can rely. 

5. "We're all in this together."

There's a lot of advice for how leaders should overcome failures. There's not enough written about how you should also celebrate success. Being the leader of a company is a double-edged sword. When your company fails at something, fingers usually are pointing at you. Even worse, when your team succeeds, people will try to say it's because of you that your team won. This is one of worst beliefs a leader can have. If you watch interviews with Steve Jobs, you'll notice how many times he attributes Apple's success to his team. While no one will make a movie about every employee at Apple, Jobs knew he would never have been successful without his team. When your team accomplishes something, remind them that they're the ones who got you to where you are. You win together, and you fail together. That's how you build a great company.

10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Build and Manage Great Teams

Try one. Try them all. They work. Science says so.

No one does anything worthwhile alone, and that's why we all want--scratch that--why we all need--to build great teams.

But is team-building an art or a science?

Great question--one I asked Gregory Ciotti, a Customer Champion at HelpScout, a company that provides email support software for SaaS and ecommerce, if he could answer. (Gregory also has a very cool blog.)

Here's what Gregory put together:

When it comes to assembling, motivating and keeping a great team happy so that they can flourish in your business, the truth is that it's a bit of both.

There's no way to overstate how important a great team is to a business' success. The quality of the work you do will exceeds the quality of the team behind it. Yet to many an entrepreneur's and manager's dismay, teambuilding often seems as complicated as watch making--there are a lot of moving parts and things have to be just right in order to create something magical.

Fortunately, academic research on team culture and group dynamics sheds some much needed light on creating and motivating the perfect team.

Here's a look at ten of the best studies available. Check them out to learn practical steps youcan do to ensure your team is set up for success.

1. Teambuilding exercises can work. Building a great team and actual "teambuilding" exercises are often viewed in very different lights.

Teambuilding is a business topic that generally produces a few eye rolls. The first thing that comes to mind for many are all the superficial activities that force people together into some sort of awkward scenario with all of the participants hating the process and wishing it would end.

Teambuilding shouldn't have that reputation.

The Small Group Research journal paper "Does Team Building Work?" analyzed data from 103 studies conducted between 1950 and 2007. This cumulative research provides the strongest scientific evidence to date that team building can have measurable, positive effects on team performance.

As you'll soon see, the "secret" in making team building work is to keep things normal, and to avoid situations that feel invasive, awkward, or forced. Do NOT assemble your team and ask everyone to share their greatest fear--a huge majority of the people involved won't appreciate this forced mix of their work life and personal feelings.

What far more practical things should you do instead?

2. The 5 best teambuilding activities. In light of the lackluster reputation of teambuilding, you probably aren't surprised to read that research from Citrix has shown that 31 percent of office workers say they can't stand teambuilding activities.

This negative association is a shame, because, as discussed in this Harvard Business School publication, a connected team is a motivated team. Further supporting research from the American Psychological Association (APA) finds that team building activities can help employees feel valued, and those that do are the most motivated to do great work.

According to that study, "Almost all employees (93 percent) who reported feeling valued said they are motivated to do their best at work."

There are ways to circumvent the negative association and provide great bonding experiences for co-workers. David W. Ballard, head of APA's Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, shared in this U.S. News & World Report interview five simple team-building activities that have shown to be successful time and time again.

They are:

1. Volunteering. The best activities are those that the entire team feels proud to participate in. Research even suggests that helping others makes you feel like you have more time on your hands! The Help Scout team recently assisted the Cradles to Crayons project to help support a great cause in our community, and we all found it to be an incredibly rewarding experience that encouraged conversation outside the workspace.
2. Physical activities. Sports make for superb outings that allow employees to work together and get physical exercise. However, Ballard warns that always playing the sport that the CEO likes may make the activity feel like an obligation. Also, pick your sport carefully: activities that could result in injury (like football) aren't as effective as milder, non-contact options (like bowling or ice skating.)
3. Field trips. Simple, casual trips like visiting a park or museum or going to a baseball game can work wonders for your team.
4. Professional development activities. Quality workshops give teams the opportunity to stay up to date with education and develop professional relationships in new settings--all without the stigma of going it alone or the awkwardness of trying to network solo.
5. Shared meals. Eating regularly with your team allows for casual conversation in a comfortable environment, letting team members get to know each other outside of work. As a remote worker, I don't get to see the Help Scout team every day, but when I'm in Boston we spend lunchtime together and I regularly dine out with individual team members.

3. Great teams need non-work communication. A study from MIT's Human Dynamics Laboratory shows that when it comes to predicting the success of a great team, the most important element is how well the team communicates during informal meetings:

"With remarkable consistency, the data confirmed that communication indeed plays a critical role in building successful teams. In fact, we've found patterns of communication to be the most important predictor of a team's success."

This doesn't mean team members have to be best friends outside of work, but managers should recognize that non-work discussions are critical to creating a team that looks out for each other. Otherwise, co-workers may begin to view one another as just cogs in the machine.

How can informal conversations be regularly prompted within teams? According to the study, "We advised the center's manager to revise the employees' coffee break schedule so that everyone on a team took a break at the same time."

In short, a simple nudge works far better than awkward, forced team-building exercises that mandate casual conversations.

4. Star performers are often dependent on their team. Your rockstar employee that seems to thrive due to natural talent may be more dependent on their team than you think.

A Harvard study published in 2006 revealed that the overall performance of heart surgeons improved over time (patient mortality was the outcome measured) when they were able to consistently work with their usual team at the primary hospital they performed in.

When the surgeons would cover for other doctors, the researchers found that this measured improvement didn't translate to other familiar hospitals with unfamiliar personnel.

So even though these surgeons were well acquainted with the other hospitals (thereby sidelining worries about feeling confused or "out of place"), they didn't have the same tacit understanding of their team members. As a result, they did not perform at the same level as they did at their primary hospital with their primary team.

This finding is very important for both employees and employers to consider when evaluating how a particular team is contributing to their rockstar's consistency.

5. Remote teams can outperform local teams. Yahoo's recent announcement they would end their remote working program created significant debate. But the research shows that not every company should write off the practice just yet.

A 2009 study from MIT's Sloan School of Management found that virtual teams working for software companies were regularly outperforming on-location teams, as long as they had the proper systems in place.

What systems are required? According to the MIT study:

Those processes can be classified in two categories: task-related--including those that help ensure each team member is contributing fully; and socio-emotional--including those that increase the cohesion of the group."

The group's findings show these elements to be critical for remote-team success:

• Let remote workers know they are valued. Remote workers are especially vulnerable to being looked over and not feeling appreciated for the work that they are doing. Teams need to make sure remote workers feel supported and appreciated, even if they aren't in office.
• Find solutions for seamless work coordination. A much-needed tool for any virtual team is the ability to view, organize and change deadlines through a project management system that the entire team can access. Sharing calendars and project updates can get messy, and the best solution that our team has found is Basecamp.
• Task-related communications. The simple question "What did you get done today?" can be difficult to answer and track with remote teams. Our team currently uses and recommends P2, which acts as an internal "bulletin board" for our team to write and read longer updates about what's been accomplished that week. It also runs entirely on WordPress, so it's easy to set up.

6. In-person brainstorming is not the best option for teams. Great teams are often denoted by their ability to unite to come up with stellar solutions to brain-busting problems.

The problem is that study after study has shown that brainstorming in groups is generally a bust when it comes to generating the best, most novel ideas.

Here are a few reasons group brainstorming can fall flat:

1. Social loafing: Studies on the concept of "social loafing" show that in brainstorming groups, creative people often won't fully exert themselves because they feel that others are likely to pick up the slack (bystander effect, anyone?)
2. Production blocking: In a group brainstorming session, the rest of the group has to wait while a peer shares an idea. This has been shown to cause some folks to actively dissuade themselves from sharing when they feel they are being talked over.
3. Evaluation apprehension: Unsurprisingly, contributors to brainstorming groups know that their ideas will be judged. Researchers have found that this often prevents people from sharing, since they don't have the time to fully flesh out an idea the way they would if they were brainstorming alone.

But brainstorming is important for teams--research shows it gets employees invested in the projects they are working on. When people feel like they've contributed, they tend to be more invested in making the project a success.

So what's the solution?

According to this research, the answer may be a new form of online brainstorming known as electronic brainwriting. This practice consists of brainstorming through a chat program, which circumvents many of the face-to-face problems. The following rules are also recommended:

• Don't criticize.
• Focus on quantity.
• Combine and improve ideas produced by others.

The Help Scout team prefers HipChat for this sort of quick communication, and the app is also perfect for setting up the electronic brainwriting sessions mentioned above.

7. Great teams benefit from having an analytical thinker. When it comes to assembling a great team, this study from Carnegie Mellon University suggests that having an analytical thinker on the team is a must to balance out big-picture strategists.

How is an analytical thinker defined? The study described this person as someone who pays close attention to "process focus," which is the art of identifying and focusing on the sub-tasks needed to achieve the goal.

In other words, this detailed-oriented person sweats the small stuff; they're a great complement to the broad thinkers who concentrate on executing overall strategy.

They key is to educate team members on appreciating the process of creation, which can help negate potential disputes. When the entire team understands the nature of the details, this analytical thinker can thrive without being at odds with those planning out strategy.

As a software company, we can offer a candid example--adding "this one button" or "that one little feature" is almost never as easy as it sounds. Very rarely are these small changes actually small, and big picture people need to be in tune with this side of an analytical thinker's work, so that misunderstanding's and disputes can be avoided.

8. Forming "micro-cultures" can be bad for teams. Varying degrees of friendship are bound to form within teams. Research shows that it's common for closer bonds to be formed among team members who share similarities based on their social identity and by the department they work in (e.g., marketing, support, product, etc.).

In a psychological study on getting the most out of multidisciplinary teams, lead researcher Doris Fay found that multidisciplinary teams produced better quality innovations than more uniform teams, but that this boost in performance was only consistent if there wasn't a problem of teams fracturing into smaller subgroups.

Team leaders need to ensure that each member feels committed to the unified cause and that everyone on the team has a voice.

While private friendships are obviously fine, office cliques and inter-departmental rivalries aren't ideal for a positive, goal-minded environment.

9. Teams need "social sensitivity." For a team to perform well across a range of challenges, it's essential for its members to have the character trait of social sensitivity.

Recent research on this topic shows that the ability to read co-workers' emotional states is pivotal in determining a team's success. Detecting when co-workers may be frustrated, busy, confused or embarrassed has proven helpful to a team's cohesion.

Seemingly small things--such as being able to take turns while speaking--can go a long way toward increasing social sensitivity among teams.

You may not be surprised to hear that women are often more attuned with this trait than men. This may be why additional research suggests that teams that lead (company boards) with at least one woman represented will regularly outperform all male boards.

Either way, this is an important trait to establish in your company culture. Check out how the Buffer team promotes these values by encouraging employees to 'default to transparency' and to be a "no ego doer" when working with others.

10. The best teams have extroverts and introverts. "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it'll spend its whole life believing that it is stupid."--Albert Einstein

Many companies actively encourage their employees to open up and be more extroverted. But be careful of this mentality; even though introverts don't tend to make as strong of a first impression as extroverts, they have proven to be key members of teams.

Research shows that although introverts "start off with the lowest status" (i.e., their peers didn't evaluate them as having much influence), as time progressed their status climbed whereas the extraverts' status fell.

These underrated quiet types offer a unique way to balance a team, so be sure that any 'wallflowers' on your team are given a chance; their reserved nature may just mean that they are shy, not that they have nothing to contribute.

6 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Day

Let's face it. Business is busy.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day and just do everything as if on autopilot, without much thought for the bigger issues at stake. I have personally been in hyperbusy mode the past few weeks. In addition to this thrice-weekly column and producing a weekly radio show, I have been driving a major initiative for a new client and readying for teaching three interactive sessions at GrowCo.

There have been lots of 18-hour days. The hard work is lots of fun and very productive, but it can often feel a bit crazy as well. I keep my priorities straight in times like this with 6 simple questions that keep everything on track, including my sanity.

Throughout each packed day, I reference this list of questions and recenter to make sure I am working at my best and accomplishing in a highly productive manner. Asking yourself these questions in busy times will help you stay focused, humble, and on target.

1. Why am I here?

This isn't a big, abstract existential question. I mean it in an immediate, practical sense. What brought me to the place(s) I am today? Motivation is key when times are hectic. I want to remind myself why I am excited to do this work and stretch myself. There are many motivating factors at play. Money, people, accomplishment, and fun all motivate me to work hard and do great work. Keeping these motivators at the forefront of my brain makes me smile and provides satisfaction with each completion. Understanding clearly how the choices I make in the heat of the moment lead to my preferred destiny helps me drive through the most challenging of times with purpose and resolve.

2. What more should I do? 

It seems odd to ask what more you can do when things are already hectic and jammed. But this question helps me identify what I might be missing in my current plan. There may be additional places where my skills and abilities will make the most difference to a project's getting done successfully. Perhaps there are issues I have been ignoring in which my attention is needed and for which I can make a positive impact. It is actually more important to ask this question on the days that I feel overworked, because it will help me analyze where I should possibly change the force of my efforts.

3. What can I let go?

When things are moving fast, priorities can change in a day or even an instant. It's important to reassess and make sure the tasks on my plate are the right ones for me. Some tasks that were high priority may be less important now after new data. Or others on the team may more efficiently accomplish them. Any time I can remove tasks from my list, I free up time and energy for more productive use. I can take that energy and put it toward something worthwhile. This is also a good question for clearing my head emotionally. I use this question to isolate any stress or frustration I am feeling during the day. Letting go of unproductive thoughts and feelings clears the way for a better flow of mental energy.

4. How can I be more efficient?

Necessity is the mother of invention, and I often create my best management and productivity routines when I am crazy busy. During the brief lulls of the day, I will often step back and try to find shorter, more efficient ways to complete my to-do list. Much of my creative energy is used on this question. I have no sacred cows when it comes to process. If I can find a better and faster way to accomplish something, or someone else can show me one, I will quickly change over. I love to get things accomplished, and each new efficiency creates a mental high and a smile.

5. Whom should I thank?

I am constantly aware and appreciative of the dedicated and talented people around me who do great work and contribute to our overall success. But when things are going fast, I sometimes forget to tell them how much I am grateful for their contribution. It doesn't matter if they are people directly on my team or outsiders who stepped up to contribute. I must prioritize making them feel appreciated for their efforts. They deserve the thanks and acknowledgment more than I deserved the support.

6. How should I start tomorrow?

I generally don't wait until the end of the day to ask this question. It's true that every day brings its own unique challenges, and too much forward thinking can distract from the current day's needs. But a little forward planning can ease your mind and allow you to set up structures that may make tomorrow even more productive. Waiting until 8 p.m. might prohibit having everything ready to go on a new initiative or getting others involved first thing. That being said, I will ask this again at the end of the day as I make my to-do list for tomorrow, so I can free my brain for a great night's sleep.

You don't have to be crazy busy to get value from these daily questions. On the slowest of days, they will help you center your mind so you can be confident, mentally free, and fully appreciative of the things you, as well as the people around you, do.

15 Things Successful People Do on Monday Mornings

Monday mornings are the most critical time of the workweek, as they set the stage for the day and week ahead.

"Because you've stepped away for a couple days, these back-to-work mornings are the most memorable for the rest of the week," says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job. "They influence your mindset in a positive or negative way, depending on what actions you decide to take."

Most successful people are keenly aware of the typical Monday morning workplace dynamic of unanticipated events, overflow of communications, and general chaos. "But after weathering hundreds of them, they realize they must gain control and stay upbeat," Taylor explains. "They take extra steps to compensate for this busy time of the week, and apply their best management skills to ensure that the day unfolds as smoothly as possible."

Here are 15 things successful people do on Monday mornings:

They wake up early and exercise.

This gets your circulation going and helps you stay alert, putting you at an advantage for a productive week ahead. "You'll get your endorphin rush, which will help your mood, too," Taylor explains.

They eat a healthy breakfast.

On Monday morning, you want to handle everything you have control over. Eating breakfast is one of those things. "You don't want to be staring at the clock, awaiting lunchtime as your stomach growls at morning meetings," she says.

They arrive early.

Do not succumb to the snooze button. "Commutes are bad on Monday, so beat the odds," Taylor says. Plus, getting in earlier than others will help make Monday morning seem more like the afternoon, because you'll have had a chance to breathe before responding to the barrage of people and issues. "Being an early bird will give you some wiggle room for the unexpected at work, not to mention any important personal matters that may arise," she says.

They clear their desk and desktop.

"Hopefully you already did this before you left on Friday," Taylor says. "But if you didn't, get this out of the way, or you might add to Monday stresses in a sea of disorganization." Organize and prioritize your files. Put aside unimportant paperwork, and keep critical files easily accessible. You want to be prepared when you, your boss, or colleagues need something at the last minute.

They carve out time for unexpected projects and tasks.

Successful individuals expect the unexpected on Monday, she says. "Your boss, team members, or staff may have remembered some loose ends over the weekend," she says, "so you're wise to build in some extra downtime on Monday morning."

They greet their team and boss.

This is important to do first thing every morning to keep morale high, but on Monday it's particularly valuable, as your team needs a special boost. "Ideally, you'll spend an few extra minutes with your colleagues on Monday mornings," Taylor explains. "It reinforces a sense of purpose and community for everyone, including you."

They update their to-do list and goals.

"Get yourself current on priorities and tasks," Taylor suggests. Then set five to eight goals for the week.

"Accomplished professionals have several goals in mind for the day and week," she says. "They know that if all goals aren't achieved, they can take pride in accomplishing most of them, and there's next week to achieve additional objectives."

They visualize the week's successes.

By envisioning the positive outcomes of various projects at hand, you can work backwards and determine the necessary steps to get your desired results.

They screen emails for urgent requests.

You can sink into email oblivion if you don't scan your inbox for urgency, Taylor says. "Star emails that are priorities, and think quality, not quantity," she says.

They tackle the tough challenges first.

The least desirable but critical projects are easy to put off, but your energy is stronger in the morning, so that's the ideal time to confront the most difficult assignments.

They make an extra effort to smile.

"It might be the last thing on your mind, but overcompensating for the pressure-cooker morning will help you get through it," she says. You may well stand out in the crowd, but your smile will likely be contagious, helping both you and team members relax.

They add a "blanket of humanity" to their emails.

It's tempting to power through all your emails in the most efficient way on Monday mornings. But before you hit Send, read them over to ensure that they're friendly and clear. "Put yourself in the recipient's shoes," Taylor says. "It's relatively easy to appear curt when you're in a hurry, along with the impersonal nature of emails and texts. You want to mitigate false starts and misinterpretations." One way to do this: Start the email by saying "Hi" and "I hope you had a great weekend."

They're able to say no.

"On Monday mornings, there will be many distractions--from people to emails to calls, meetings, offers for meeting in the break room, and so forth," Taylor explains. "Successful people can diplomatically and politely say no to colleagues by offering to engage at a later time."

If your boss needs you, that is clearly an exception. However, if you have crucial calls to make or meetings to attend, give your boss the heads-up. "It's stressful to be a people pleaser, particularly on Monday mornings," she says. "Generally, no one ends up being pleased, as you can't do your best work with conflicting priorities."

They stay focused.

Successful people don't dwell on any challenging events that occurred over the weekend or other frivolous thoughts. "Compartmentalize by putting them in a separate box as you start your week," she says.

They remember that there is Tuesday.

"In all the chaos, it's easy to believe that the world will cave if you don't solve all Monday's problems on Monday," she says. "But when the dust settles at the end of the day, you may realize that certain tasks could have waited." Sometimes, you obtain more information over time that enhances your decision-making process. Or you may find that certain problems you're pondering will resolve themselves.

Monday morning can challenge even the most industrious, successful business leaders. "But if you compensate for all the anticipated distraction and intensity by remembering to focus, plan, and stay calm, you won't relive Monday all over again on Tuesday," Taylor concludes.

8 Simple Truths About Business

Over the past 30 years, I've interviewed hundreds of executives, ranging from living legends to unknown entrepreneurs struggling with their initial startups, as well as dozens of sales and marketing gurus.

As an engineer and marketer, I've participated in the growth of a wildly productive organization and observed--firsthand and up close--as two huge companies disintegrated under the weight of their own collective stupidity.

For the past seven years, I've had daily conversations with scores of readers about surviving and thriving in the corporate world. Based on all of the above, this much I know is true:

1. You are a freelancer.

Regardless of whether you're the CEO of a huge company or a drone starting in the mailroom, you are a freelancer.

Even if you've got a salaried position with benefits, perks, paid vacations, and a fancy title, you are a freelancer.

Being a freelancer means that your value to your company, your peers, and your investors is only as good as your last win.

Being a freelancer means constantly developing new opportunities, defining new products, and planning three steps ahead.

There is one alternative to being a freelancer: being unemployed and unemployable.

2. You are your own boss.

CEOs get this, of course, but it's also true for everyone else. Since you're a freelancer, your manager--the person you "report" to--is more like a client or customer, which means you must constantly manage the relationship.

As a freelancer, you must be capable of managing not just upward and downward, but sideways as well. You must influence and convince your coworkers to help you achieve your goals, usually by helping them achieve theirs.

Most importantly, you must learn to manage yourself, controlling your thoughts, habits, and actions so that they serve your greater purpose.

3. You must learn to sell.

Selling is the soul of business. Companies that can't sell their products go bankrupt. Even nonprofits and government agencies depend entirely on somebody's ability to sell the usefulness of whatever service those organizations provide.

What's true for companies is absolutely true for you as a freelancer. Your ability to succeed will always be dependent upon your ability to sell yourself and your ideas.

Unless you want to be (or be seen to be) entirely irrelevant to everyone around you, you must not just learn to sell, but learn how to be good at it.

4. Clarity is power.

In the past, some business folk were like politicians and found it useful to blur issues with double talk, jargon, and biz-blab. The saying then was: "You can't pin Jell-O to the wall!"

Today, however, the business world is flooded with too much information. The endless challenge is now to simplify what's complex, without being simplistic.

Whoever can communicate clearly now commands vast power over the vast majority of people who are drowning in a sea of data.

5. People skills trump tech skills.

While it's generally useful to know how to use technology, your ability to create value (and to sell it to others) emerges from understanding other people, discovering what motivates them, and figuring out how to satisfy their individual needs.

6. Courage is real, security is not.

Forget job security because it doesn't exist. To fight--and win--against the inevitable changes and challenges that come into your life and industry takes courage.

Courage is not the same as being fearless. Only fools are fearless. Courage means taking risks to get what you want. Courage means facing the reality that if you stand up for what's right, you might lose your job or your company.

There is only one alternative: become a victim.

7. Your beliefs drive your results.

To be successful, you must differentiate between facts (reality) and beliefs (interpretations of what facts mean.) Your beliefs, not the facts, determine how well (or badly) you'll perform in any given situation.

For example, one person believes that a slow economy means, "It will be nearly impossible for me to sell this product." Another person might believe that "companies need my help now more than ever."

Which of the two is most likely to succeed?

8. Business is simple.

While every industry and every profession requires specific expertise, the business of business tends to be rather simple.

Unfortunately, the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of management consultants, industry analysts, and corporate trainers depends upon keeping things complex--because, after all, if business is simple, why hire those guys? Good question!