A recent article in Business Insider featured an interview with Michael Parker, president and co-founder of DSFederal, an Inc. 100 Company. In the interview, Parker discusses The Landmark Forum and other suggestions for running a great business. Here are a few excerpts.
What’s the single best piece of business advice that helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today, and why?
I remember my very first job. I was working for my uncle’s very small real estate firm and I was probably about 16 years old at the time. My uncle asked me to fix the printer for him, and I kept going back to him asking how exactly he wanted it fixed and where to put things. In retrospect, it was probably pretty annoying.
Finally my uncle said, “Michael, don’t bring me more problems, bring me a solution.” I immediately realized that I was asking questions to avoid thinking for myself and avoid solving problems. I never made problems for my customers again.
Quick: What’s one thing you recommend all aspiring or current entrepreneurs do right now to take their business to the next level?
Register for The Landmark Forum. It absolutely changed my life, and I wouldn’t have built my business without it. It’s basically a self-help class, and it reprogrammed my brain for success. I have met countless CEOs who have taken it. I send almost all of my staff there. It’s about $600 over one long weekend. If you take it and do everything they ask you to do, you will never be the same.
What’s your definition of success? How will you know when you’ve finally succeeded in your business?
I think success is a discovery process. It changes every day. I think about happiness and success a lot, and I’ve come to decide that both of those things are not substantive, but rather relational. By that I mean, success and happiness don’t exist out there in the world. They exist in the space between the people in your life — your family, your friends, your staff, your clients etc. You have to be a go-giver, not a go-getter.
Read the whole interview with Michael J. Parker at Business Insider.