When I was a kid (this is really going to date me) my grandmother told me the story of the little red hen. It went something like this: The little red discovered a seed and asked who would help her plant it and no one did. She then asked who would help her water and take care of it, again the dog the fox and the cow all said “Not I”. When the seed grew into wheat she asked who would help her harvest the wheat and again no one stepped up. This process continued with taking the wheat to the mill, bringing it home, grinding into flour and baking the bread. HOWEVER responses changed instantly when the little red hen asked “Who will help me eat this bread” An overwhelming response of yes could be heard throughout the entire barnyard! Because of their poor attitude to the process, the dog, the fox and the cow did not get to partake in the little red hen’s success. Here are a few lessons we can learn from the little red hen.
1. Seek Out Opportunities: The little red hen when she discovered the seed in reality discovered an opportunity. The first thing to note is that she was looking for the opportunity when it presented itself. How many times have you heard or said yourself “I’m waiting for my next big deal”. Have fun waiting. Opportunities are everywhere if you look for them. In the last few weeks I have discovered two significant opportunities that I never knew existed and both of them were right in my backyard. They were there all the time, I just had to look.
2. Plant in Fertile Ground: Now that you have found the opportunity, make certain the ground you choose to plant in is fertile. The ground is your marketplace, your community. As with a seed, your opportunity can be fragile and should be handled with care. You need to do all you can to give your opportunity it’s greatest opportunity to grow. Your marketplace should be such that you know your customers, have a great game plan in place filled with great networking potential. You also need to have knowledge of your competitors.
3. Nurture and Develop the Opportunity: Just like the little red hen when she discovered the seed, she understood it takes work to nurture and develop the opportunity. I have learned that opportunities don’t develop themselves and most often don’t happen overnight. There are experiences I have had with companies that took over 2 years for my efforts of cultivation and nurturing to reap rewards. Many times I had the attitude like the dog, the cow and the fox in the story that it would be too much work so I too had thoughts of “Not I”. Thankfully I held firm to my beliefs that these seeds would reap a harvest and because I did, I can confidently say to you that my commitment to the opportunity was unconditionally worth it. The key to this long term effort was clearly planting in the right marketplace and nurturing the opportunity on a consistent basis!
4. Everyone Loves the Rewards: Just like the little red hen, when the work was done and the reward was there, it is always easy to get help in the celebration of the victory. I want to take a little twist to this concept regarding how to turn opportunities into successful events. I believe opportunities are more easily discovered when we place as much value on the benefit of others as we do ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, I want to build a great business to provide for my family and reach my goals and dreams as much as the next guy, but we need to show those we serve the benefits of working or choosing us as their provider of choice. We are their discovered opportunity and thus we each share in the reward!
I think you would agree rewards are much sweeter when we have planted, nurtured and cared for them and more importantly they last much longer because once we have established this process culturally from beginning to end, and commit to seeing it all the way through-like the little red hen; it sets the stage for the next great opportunity…if you happen to be looking for it!
