The New Entrepreneur: Building Companies with a WOW-Factor 05/19/2009 Summary

summary written by Chrisite Myers

To Sum It Up

Rethinking business strategy means more than just adapting to modern marketing tactics. "If you want juice, fulfillment and life in your company," says Conscious Business Institute founder Peter Matthies, "you have to know your essence." A native German entrepreneur turned California resident and business mogul, whose resume ranges from former Principal at Apax Partners & Co. - a venture capitalist and private equity firm managing over $20 billion - to Leadership Coach at CBI, Matthies' own quest for meaning led him to a conclusion that transformed his business philosophy. "What most of us are truly searching for in business and in life are freedom and fulfillment," he says. "A walk in the woods can provide the same feeling experience of freedom as 10 million dollars; it's all about the feeling the experience creates."

According to Matthies, being honest with ourselves about what produces authentic and lasting peace, energy and well being as individuals will translate into better team work (healthier relationships), a more authentic business identity and products that attract the customer bases we want to reach. Identifying the roots of our fears is also important, because they usually stem from false beliefs that keep us from realizing our full potential. And, through the lens of Matthies' paradigm, our emotional health and vibrancy as individuals directly affects the way our companies run. The bottom line is that our personal and corporate identities (our essences) speak to people. It's that simple and that complicated. We need to discover what inspires us, and we need to cultivate those ideas.

Connect the Dots

Qualities a Good Business Needs to Have
- A Message: Visions and Values
- Authenticity: "Get Real." Follow what you truly believe in. Know what you are and what you aren't.
- Market Research: Talk to customers and potential clients to see if your visions for the company sound valuable to them. Do they want what you have to offer?
- Discipline and Guts (show up and go for it)
- The desire to be engaged in what really matters and to make a difference (Ethos Water: ethoswater.com, Apolis Activism: apolisactivism.com, Pura Vida Coffee: puravidacoffee.com)

What Investors Want to Know
- Do you have practical solutions to potential problems?
- Does the CEO have good credibility, knowledge of his/her market, critical thinking skills, and problem solving ability? And, is he/she a good listener (able to digest information before responding)?
- Would the CEO be willing to step down if someone else could do a better job? (Tip: the answer should be "Yes.")
- Can they obtain 25%-40% of your company for their investment and get a good return on their investment? OR, if you are looking for alternative funding sources, are you partnered with larger companies who will create a concrete demand for your product by placing an order that the investor can then fund?

Hitting it Home

"Nosce Te Ipsum"-- Know Thyself.
"Anschlussgenauigkeit"-- The Precision of Connection.

Matthies' Quest(ions):
- What am I doing here?
- What do I really want to do with my life?
- What are my gifts and talents
- What are my current habits and actions, and what are the results?
- What is standing between me and what I want?
- What is the source of my fears?

Catalyst for Thought: Be the Change

Invest in yourself:Pursuit a healthy hobby or interest that will enrich your life. Swim, take that French class, learn how to swing dance, sing in and out of the shower, read a good book-but whatever you do, enjoy it!

Invest in your community:Take the time to genuinely listen to someone. Whether it's a spouse, friend, co-worker, or the lady at Starbucks, let that someone really be heard, wait until they are finished talking, consider, and then respond. This is not only an exercise in patience, but in communication.

Check It Out

"Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider." -Francis Bacon

Matthies suggests:
- Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue by Neale Donald Walsh
- The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightmentment by Eckhart Tolle
- A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

Top 10 Memorable Phrases from Peter Matthies

"The number one reason for business failure is management. The old way is BROKEN, it only works for about five percent of people; there's almost always a time or money struggle."
"Rarely do people who love their jobs lose them."
Sustainable results for change require looking at the emotional model; habits, actions and feelings produce predictable outcomes.
"In a business where the emotional system is functional there is a clear flow of energy."
"To build a company where people come together for a movement is VERY powerful!"
"Team, Team, Team! It's all about the team."
"Life is a feeling experience, not a doing experience. The body doesn't know whether it's the ten million dollars you want or the walk in the woods"
"The place you're at is the perfect place to start; know your gifts and talents and create a clear purpose. The more you are honest with yourself, the further down the right path you will find yourself. When we honor and respect that we can make a career out of it."
"There's always resources, the questions is, how do we attract the resources we want in order to have the desired outcomes?"
"A good CEO has done it before, thought critically of the market, is open to listening, digesting information and acts accordingly."