1. Make your 10 years plan
"It took us almost 4 years, from 2003-2007, to come out of that slump. To today’s young people, 4 years is like an eternity. But if you are into building anything of consequence know that it is going to take a long time. Success is rarely overnight.
This is something I would like young people who are starting out today to be mindful of. It would never happen that you start something today and tomorrow you would build a huge business."
-Tamzid Siddiq Spondon, Managing Director, Zanala Bangladesh
2. Bias toward action
"We shouldn’t spend all our time planning. We should also focus on execution as well. Planning is easy. Hence, most people tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time planning instead of investing in doing. Get good at getting things done.
Planning often feels like doing but it is not. Execution is about getting your hands dirty and getting things done."
-M. Manjur Mahmud, COO, Datasoft
3. Always be asking for help
"You have to use every resource available to you, whether it’s emotional support, strategic or technical advice, or an introduction, or otherwise. Don’t shy away from reaching out to people. I’m relentless in following up with people who offer introductions or help.
And I think you have to be if you want to build a business. Because this is something that requires so much more of everything you need than what you can imagine. And many people genuinely want to help someone who is doing something worthwhile."
-Sylvana Quader Sinha, Founder, MD and CEO, Praava Health
4. Never allow yourself to give excuses
"The reason why I don’t consider myself a writer is that I’m not doing it regularly enough. This is what it takes basically – if you’re a writer you write every day, if you’re a runner, you run every day.
Achievement demands work. Consistent work. Do whatever you are supposed to be doing. If you keep at it for long enough time you will become good at it.
Stop giving yourself excuses so that you can keep doing it. “These are the reasons I would not be able to do this” Stop giving this excuse. Look at why you should be able to override all of these excuses and still do it. Many people say I don’t have enough time for this or that. That’s the worst kind of excuse.
If you like doing something, you can always carve out the time for it. Make the changes necessary to accommodate whatever it is that you want to do and put your effort to do it. There is no trick here."
-Tanvir Haider Chaudhury, CEO, Kazi Food Industries
5. Reflect more often
"Every day when I wake up from sleep, I ask myself whether I’m looking forward to the new day and whether it excites me to jump into the world. And, then, at the end of the day, when I come back to my home, I again ask myself whether it was a well-spent day and whether I enjoyed my work, learned something new, had fun, and was of use to others.
If I get positive replies to these questions, I know my life is on the right track; that I’m doing fine. That’s actually how I measure life. Alhamdulillah for everything!"
- Ivdad Ahmed Khan Mojlish, Managing Director, LightCastle Partners
Photo Credit: Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
Originally published on 10 September 2020. Updated on 29 June 2023.
