We’re now at week five of our #MillionaireMovesMonday series, which Black Enterprise launched last month in partnership with William F. Pickard, Ph.D. For the past several weeks, the business mogul has shared excerpts from his new book Millionaire Moves: Seven Proven Principles of Entrepreneurship, which empowers entrepreneurs with the tools and insight they need to sustain a successful business.
So far, Pickard has covered four principles that explore the power to turn dreams into reality; the importance of taking advantage of all humbling opportunities; creativity as a supreme resource; and the concept of “success by association.â€
This week, he shares with us an excerpt from Principle Five: Talent and Skill Set, which identifies the three essential roles that all businesses need to fill in order to be successful.
Principle Five: Talent and Skill Set
Chief executive officers can’t afford to be naïve about the employees they hire or the contractors that provide the services they outsource. These individuals and entities are key to a successful operation. Not only are they responsible for production, they are often the first or last line of defense between you and your patrons. They are your company’s image, attitude, and voice.
In essence, they fall into three categories — Finders, Minders, and Grinders:
- Finders: A Finder is someone charged with business development. This is the person who is out actively identifying prospective new deals, whether it’s at the local Chamber of Commerce, the Black Chamber of Commerce, the Young Republicans Club, country and golf clubs, alumni associations, or anywhere potential dealmakers–and deals–might be present. The Finder schedules meetings and goes out every night hunting for deals. Ideally, once a Finder identifies a deal, he or she has a team in place that can turn it over to a Minder.
- Minders: Those in C-Suite roles, management or operations, are the Minders: CEO, CFO, CMO, CTO, the chief talent acquisition person, and others, many of whom have MBAs or legal degrees. The Minders work together collaboratively to evaluate and manage a newly identified opportunity and determine whether or not it should evolve into a business deal.
- Grinders: Grinders are manufacturing or support staff tasked, ideally, with working together in a positive, collaborative environment to produce products and services.
The success of any business depends on these three interconnected roles. If they aren’t fulfilled properly, you can forget about your impeccable credentials or your impressive work ethic. No matter how accomplished you are or how good you might be at your craft, it’s the people who work for you and with you who will have lasting impact. There is one exception, however. It’s a typical phenomenon that occurs during those lean startup years when the founder and CEO of the establishment has the honor of wearing all three hats. At the infancy stage of your enterprise, you’re the taskmaster. You get to do it all.
Pickard currently serves as CEO and chairman for six different enterprises, owns several McDonald’s franchises, and co-owns five black-owned newspapers. He also sits on the board of the National Urban League and is a member of the Detroit Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Stay tuned to see another excerpt from his book next Monday!
Selena Hill is the Associate Digital Editor at Black Enterprise and the founder of Let Your Voice Be Heard! Radio. You can hear Hill and her team talk millennial politics and social issues every Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @MsSelenaHill.