You won't achieve the American Dream by dreaming

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg / Andrew Feinberg via Flickr

COMMENTARY. We live in volatile times where viewpoints are highly polarized. The way people see business in America is no exception. Lately, it seems as if management commentary is either feel-good fluff or anti-business rhetoric.

Of course, neither extreme relates very well to the realities of the business world, which makes it all the more frustrating for those of you seeking to advance your career through meaningful insight.

Speaking of which, one of the key insights you'll learn sooner or later is not to trust conventional wisdom. If you don't take chances and challenge the status quo, you won't get anywhere. So you should probably avoid or at least challenge extreme thinking. In other words, don't drink the Kool-Aid from either side.

Perhaps the most damaging piece of popular career and leadership fluff is that you should reach for the stars, aspire to the corner office, and don't stop until you achieve your dreams. Now, I know what you're thinking: Isn't that the American Dream, start from nothing and become a big-time success?

Absolutely, but you won't achieve the American Dream by dreaming. You'll achieve it by doing.

You see, successful executives and business leaders aren't typically driven by high aspirations. They didn't get to where they are by walking around with their heads in the clouds. They got there by putting one foot in front of the other and getting stuff done.

And they did it for one or more of these four reasons: because it was their job and they had a strong work ethic, out of necessity to put food on the table, to bring a product to market they thought customers would want, or they had a passion for what they were doing and thought it was cool.

Just to be clear, I'm not arguing against Robert Browning's insightful statement that, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp." I'm not saying you shouldn't work your tail off, seek your passion in life, have a vision of something unique, or want to do great things. What I am saying is that you don't accomplish those things by spending your time thinking about how to get to the top of the corporate ladder.

So how do you achieve the American Dream?

You get there by delivering the goods, getting the job done, and satisfying the needs of your customer, whoever that is. If you get really good at doing those things, that's how you achieve the American Dream. That's how success really works. Here are some notable examples of what I'm talking about:

When Mark Zuckerberg was developing Facebook, he was building something he thought would be cool. He wasn't thinking about running a big company and becoming a billionaire.

Richard Branson didn't aspire to build a global conglomerate of over 200 companies when he opened a record shop and mail order retailer named Virgin.

Bill Gates did not have stars in his eyes when he licensed an operating system to IBM for the first personal computer. He was just trying to satisfy a big new customer.

Fred Smith was not driven by the idea that FedEx would someday become an everyday verb for express mail. He was driven by the idea of a fully integrated air-to-ground shipping business that could operate efficiently using hubs.

When Ed Whitacre started out as a facility engineer with Southwestern Bell in 1963 and slowly worked his way up the corporate ladder over the coming decades, he wasn't thinking about someday running the company and, after a series of mergers, creating the nation's largest telecom company and relaunching AT&T.

In 1927, not only were Dick and Mac McDonald not trying to create the world's first and ultimately its biggest fast food empire, McDonald's, it took 21 years for them to realize they should be focusing on burgers instead of hot dogs.

Kraft Foods started with James L. Kraft selling cheese door-to-door. Toyota founder Sakichi Toyoda made looms. Sony started out as a radio repair shop in Tokyo. Nokia was a paper mill in Finland.

More on: Unusual origins of 15 innovative companies

I can go on and on, but the point is this. The secret to success isn't aspiring to great things. It's doing great things. And far more often than not, that starts with doing not-so-great things. Oftentimes, you don't even know what you're doing is great until way after the fact.

You won't get to the top by thinking about how you're going to be a rich executive someday, but by thinking about how people may actually have use for a personal computer, building them in a garage, and selling them, the way Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak did. Or by just doing your job better than anyone else and slowly but steadily climbing the corporate ladder from the bottom to the top, the way Whitacre did.

Remember, you won't achieve the American Dream by dreaming. You'll achieve it by doing. Your motives won't be grandiose. They'll be simple and straightforward, like loving what you do, solving a customer problem, or putting food on the table. That's what motivates successful people.

[DrBillToth]

I love it the dreaming MUST be follwoed by action. Also note that each of the examples had two things...intense focus on one thing and a friend or partner that shared their vision - at least in the beginning. Later they each sought menotors or coaches as they scalled up their business. Focus Focus Focus and Innovate, Innovate Innovate.
Live with Intention, DrBillTothCom/blog

[jeannutson]

Great article! very inspiring and motivating.

[Ziegmarl]

Uh, wasn't it really Ray Croc that turned McDonald's into a massive franchise? I mean, the brothers basically lucked out by finding a businessman with the ability to grow the brand and buy them out.

[stobak2]

You mean to tell me that's what you took away from the post? Really? ;-)

[gfwong]

Good piece of article. I always thought I was not ambitious enough for not really putting so much thought on dreaming to be successful and this and that. I guess what is important is to DO things and doing it right presently (and everyday). The future will take the shape of the way we do things now.

[rorymarsh]

Based on the article it is clear that the fundamental points are for people to consistently fulfil their customers needs while trying to always improve the product and never loose focus. Be present, do your best, do it with a smile, do it every day that you are supposed to and be accessible!!

Rory Marsh
Meldam Realtors
Real Estate in Jamaica and the world

[smspirate]

Thank you for an exceptional article! I've shared it liberally with clients and friends. I'm happy to say, I've been engaged in many, many business adventures in the startup world for more than 10 years. Out of the "dot-bomb" fiasco, I'm also happy to say, I built a successful track record helping people "do." We get there through dreaming, finding what they love, and figuring out the resources they have to turn it into something they will be able to make a living at. First rule: You can't do many until you've done one. You cant do the second until you've measured the results of the first. Detailed plans last a year, and transitional ones get made at the very start for the first 3. The BEST thing to do before you start anything is to locate your most likely source of capital, which is NOT a bank these days, and model the business toward the interests of the private capital you can gain. Which basically equates to your article advice, because once a private investor starts asking you questions, you will definitely start your education in "doing." I think it's a beautiful development in our business - one that has been known about for many, many years, but wasn't the fodder for Wall Street corruption for many of precisely the same reasons. Funny how that works, huh?

[[e-mail]]

You couldn't be more right Steve. When several friends of mine all got together and started a little company called Labor Ready. Once the formula was set for opening and operating a store location, we got together on a personal level and opened many locations around the country with the idea to consolidate them back under the Labor Ready corporate roof. Over the next 10 years the company grew to over 850 locations, $1 Billion in sales and became the 4th best performing stock of the 1990's! Who would have thought this little idea would do so much in just a decade. After 2 years of work, I'm now just launching Davesbillboard.com to bring something fresh and affordable for all levels of business and build a platform to HELP our Wounded Soldiers as a very important side benefit. Enjoyed your article! Dave

[humphriesh]

@phoenixcatify, uh..yeah, whatever....
Great article and oh so true, the truly great don't really know it, they weren't trying to be great, they were just trying. As a small fish hoping to be a big fish some day, i'm putting in the work now donig something that I love.
@Steve Tobak, your articles always seem to be just what I need to read to get back to my cube instead of boxing up my post its and bobble head collection and heading out the door. I've learned a lot of good stuff from your insights and some of it contradicts the textbook management rules. Keep it coming and thanks.

[stobak2]

It's incredibly gratifying to know it helps. Really.

Don't worry: I'll keep writing as long as you guys keep reading.