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In my 20 years of working with large enterprises and leading early-stage ventures, I’ve found one characteristic that all entrepreneurs have in common: a big idea. What separates the dreamers from the successful business leaders is their ability to execute on that idea and convince others that it’s an idea worth investing in.Entrepreneurs all face similar challenges when it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent, and acquiring customers and strategic suppliers. But before convincing others to invest in the venture with their time, services, or financial backing, there are some critical points that the entrepreneur must be prepared to address.

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My name is David and I am a BlackBerry addict.

I get up every morning to the alarm set on my BlackBerry 8800 and start the day in bed, checking for messages, news, and updates on the weather. I work out to MP3 files of executive book summaries and music, all stored on my BlackBerry, and spend the rest of the day obsessively “checking” for new messages every five minutes.

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I recently had the amazing experience of briefly meeting Jim Collins, the highly acclaimed author of Built to Last, and Good to Great. He mesmerized an audience of 10,000 plus with his casual demeanor, understated charm, and elegant, simple delivery of brilliant thoughts and ideas.

Several points in his 60-minute speech resonated deeply and I am confident that all of those who were lucky enough to hear him will remember the experience for years to come. In it, he made several key points:

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What really motivates people to not just meet, but to exceed expectations? For some, it is the promise of financial rewards, while others want recognition, a step up on the corporate ladder, or political clout.

For many non-profits, it can feel as if they are in a race without the proper equipment. Unlike their corporate cousins, who can use financial rewards and perks to a much greater extent (as well as titles and promotions as wild cards), most non-profits have to find new and creative ways to drive key individuals to push beyond their perceived limits.

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When Stacy Schott saw David Nour speak at a Georgia Meeting Planners International (GAMPI) meeting earlier this year, his message struck home. She was so excited about what he had to say that she returned to work, eager to present the Relationship Economics methodology to her own team at Minding Your Business, Inc. And a few weeks later, when she saw that David was giving a seminar at the Atlanta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, she couldn’t wait to attend and introduce herself to him in person. Just weeks after their meeting, Stacy’s work situation changed. Her background is in the hospitality and travel industry, a strictly relationship business. “I was brought up in the hospitality industry with the belief that you are only as good as your word,” she said. “If all things are equal, people do business with people they know, like and trust. Even if I didn’t always represent the best product, people chose to do business with me because they knew I would take care of them.” Today, she is the newest principal of The Nour Group, leading the firm’s business development efforts. Relationship Economics is how I was raised in the business, so for me to go out and tell people why it will affect their culture is like me telling them they need oxygen to live.”

I recently asked a company CFO about how many clients he had spoken with or seen in person in the past month. When he gave me a perplexed look, I thought I’d clarify this seemingly complex question – How do you gather market insights from your existing customers? To my amazement his response was “I don’t go see customers.” That’s the power of GE’s Quick Market Intelligence (QMI). They gather first hand, market-facing data from customers and employees daily or weekly. This is why we strongly recommend that “nothing will ever replace feet on the street” and every executive in every company, regardless of size, market stature, or perceived dominance talk with one customer per week and have lunch with at least one employee. Lou Gerstner, the famous IBM CEO, required the top 240 executives of IBM to talk with five customers and five employees each and every week. There is nothing more worthless than your expensive marketing, sales or certainly technical departments coming up with really cool ideas, campaigns and promotions that no one will care about! First hand information from employees and customers feed key decisions makers’ brains, which aid in identifying trends quicker than the competition. Contact us to learn about the keynote speech on Adaptive Innovation.