There have been few politicians in recent history who have been able to polarize the opinions of so many people in the world as Donald Trump.
Chances are you either love him or you hate him, but whatever you think of him, there is probably something you could learn from Trump. So, what is it that Trump is doing that most business leaders could learn from? Let's start with the obvious and work backwards.
Extracurricular activities
Listening to a news channel during the week, I was told that the Donald was taking a golf day on Saturday.
If the self-proclaimed leader of the western world can take a day off to relax and enjoy himself, why can't you? Unfortunately, many owners of small businesses, think that they can't take time off because their business will fall apart.
Many haven't taken real holidays in years; however, Trump just took his family to London for a holiday!
If you own a business you could learn from Trump by blocking more time for yourself and your family.
Quick to fire
According to some reports on the administration of the White House, there have been more people fired by Trump than any other president in recent history. While there is some controversy on some of those firings, the truth of the matter is that most business owners are too slow to fire employees who are not working out for their firms. In this time of record low unemployment rates, business leaders are often hesitant to let people go because "a warm body is better than nobody." Trump, on the other hand, recognizes that if an employee has different core values, that person probably doesn't fit in the organization. While you might have different core values than the Donald, you might benefit from his approach of setting people free! Chances are if you have an organization that has a number of employees, there are a few of them who probably aren't working out. If you have done your best in trying to address the underlying issues and you are both still frustrated, helping them with a plan for a change in career can often be the best thing you could do for them.
Playing to win
Complacency affects many small businesses and organizations. As leaders, we are often too tired, overwhelmed and stuck in the day-to-day operations of our business to strategically think about how we are going to really achieve our goals. Trump, on the other hand, is playing to win. Whether its it's in negotiating with North Korea, or talking trade with his neighbours, Trump has a goal in mind and is doing his utmost to achieve that goal. He is playing to win. At this point, there are some who might argue that they disagree with Trump's tactics and his "win at all costs" attitude. However, I am not talking about his tactics; I am talking about his mindset. If we have clearly defined what we want to achieve with our company and set our mind to accomplish those goals, we are more likely be successful. Unfortunately, most of us have rather vague ideas of what success means, and very few have defined how we will measure our success.
There are books already written on the pros and cons of Trump leadership and most people have their minds made up whether they like the guy or not. If his foreign policy reopened steel factories in your neck of the woods and you can now feed your family, you might be a fan. If you were a die-hard Hilary Clinton supporter, chances are you will never like him. Yet as aspiring business leaders, we need to be open to ideas that we can incorporate into our organizations from people of differing points of view.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is an award-winning business coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy who doesn't vote in American elections. Email comments to dave@profityourselfhealthy.com.
