Competition is one of the driving forces of great economic success. As entrepreneurs, it pushes us to be the best we can be.
And there’s no denying, sometimes the competition gets fierce. So fierce, there seem to be very few things that can be done to get ahead. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where the power of leveraging comes in.
What is leverage and how does it work? Well, leverage is simply any “tool”, palpable or non-palpable, that can be obtained to gain an edge in a given field.
But the power of leveraging truly lies in the fact that it is not easily discernible, and most people tend to waste it rather than make good use of it.
Leverage and Your Business
It is not hard to see how such a phenomenon as leveraging can play a huge part in the life of a businessman. Understanding and discerning your leverages; recognizing what you have at hand, and knowing how to use it to your advantage, can be the difference between a calculated success or a simple game of chance on AnyTime Bingo.
Without leverages, your overall outcome; your probability of gain/reward, is limited to your cumulative energy and input at best, or pure chance and luck at worst. But with the power of leverages, you can significantly separate your business from the pack and gain that much-needed “edge.”
Using Leverages to Gain an Edge
There are three steps to successfully employing leverages to gain an edge in business. The first is recognition, which is the point of realizing what leverages you indeed possess. The second is cultivation, the act of grooming and priming your leverages, so to speak. And finally, there’s the activation, the actual “leveraging” of these tools available to you to achieve your goals and make them easier or more guaranteed.
Kinds of Leverages
For an entrepreneur, the scope of leverages available in your arsenal is pretty much limitless. From your intellectual leverages, borne of critical wit and appraisal, or inherent business acumen, to external leverages including location, technology, and so on. There’s no limit to the leveraging tools you can employ to give yourself an edge.
Here are some of the other leveraging kinds below:
- Human Resources – Human resources can be leveraged in so many ways, ranging from connections and emotional attachments. An example of the latter is emotionally connecting your brand to a certain demographic. This way you not only earn customers, but you also earn a dedicated user base.
- Financial – Financial leveraging is the ability to use your financial resources to generate an edge for yourself. It may be the most common and widely available, but it has also been proven to be easily made worthless when mismanaged.
- Systemic – Systemic leveraging may be the most fascinating on the list. It is capable of generating so much advantage when used correctly. The underlining principle of systemic leveraging is the ability to create a self-sustaining system that makes everything else, even when insufficient, remarkably easier and remarkably effective.
In Conclusion
These are just a few of the kinds of leverages available to you as an entrepreneur. The possibilities are pretty much endless. All you have to do is recognize, cultivate, and activate!
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