There are many moving pieces in any business, and it’s impossible to know everything about everything.
Yet, you commonly see argumentative threads on social media discussing which business guru, or which finance guru, or whatever guru you should follow to “get ahead” because they are “the best”.
Their fanatical fans may even fight you in a duel if it came down to it.
Kidding. I hope.
But seriously, the idea that one person has all the answers for such a vast sector of knowledge (e.g. business guru, startup guru, etc) is a misguided starting point from which to begin your quest for the best information.
Having that mindset could leave you shorthanded.
(I’m going somewhere with this, I promise!)
Example: Financial Gurus
Let’s take finances, for example.
If you want to be a well-rounded expert at finances, you would likely seek multiple people in each sector of finances.
If you struggle with a specific area of finances, you would likely follow the person who can help you overcome that struggle.
Likewise, if you aspire to be successful in a particular sector of finances, you would likely follow the people who will help you do that.
Financial Debt Guru
You have people like Dave Ramsey who are experts at helping millions of people get out of debt and stay out of debt.
He’s all about breaking bad financial habits and then staying away from those habits for the rest of your life, hence one of his famous sayings “all debt is bad”.
Is all debt REALLY “bad”? Not necessarily.
Millions of people who have become extremely wealthy by taking on and leveraging debt (e.g. real estate) disagree.
It generally depends on the kind of debt you take on, and how you manage the debt that you’ve acquired.
Is Dave Ramsey actually a “financial guru”?
Many people would claim that Dave Ramsey is not a “financial guru” because the financial principles and mindset that he teaches will never help you become wealthy.
But Dave Ramsey’s audience is typically someone who has bad financial habits, and they struggle with constant debt.
So the message of “all debt is bad” helps his audience change their perspective on money and realize that the cause of all of their problems connects back to their bad financial decisions.
Once the individual’s perspective and decision-making process with their finances has changed to a more healthy one – and their negative cash flow turns positive – they will naturally want to learn how to grow their wealth.
That’s when they will learn how to leverage debt to their advantage.
Financial Real Estate Gurus
Carl Berg and Sam Zell are real estate moguls who are experts in helping people generate wealth through real estate acquisition.
They are “financial guru’s” but in the real estate wealth niche of finances.
You probably wouldn’t go talk with them about how to change your bad financial habits so that you can get out of debt.
If you are in a position where you’re ready to start acquiring real estate as a means to growing your wealth, then Carl Berg and Sam Zell would be great “business gurus” to follow and learn from.
Financial Investment Guru
Warren Buffet is a master at investing. He’s a business guru who you’d do well to follow to learn about growing your wealth through investments.
The list of guru categories in the world of finances goes on forever:
- Grant gurus
- Scholarship gurus
- Retirement planning gurus
- Corporate finance gurus
And many more.
Finances are not just one dimensional, and neither is business.
If you are just following or listening to one person, then you are missing out on an entire world of knowledge to be explored.
Balance Is The Key
The same principle applies to business.
Every business owner is in a different place, so you need to have access to the best information that applies to where you are at that moment.
Some business owners are just starting out, so you need to learn the basics.
Bill Gates probably isn’t the person you should learn the basics from.
Some business owners are struggling with finding quality talent. You should probably find someone to follow and learn from who has a proven track record of attracting and keeping quality talent around.
Someone who can develop a sense of pride and loyalty among the ranks.
Some business owners struggle with public speaking.
Some business owners struggle with marketing or sales. Maybe you can follow and learn from someone who is a master in sales or marketing.
For sales, you could follow people like; Zig Ziglar, Steve Jobs, Grant Cardone, and others who have had a proven track record in sales.
If you are a business owner who is struggling with social media marketing and management, you could follow and learn from people like Mark Schaefer, Mari Smith, or Mike Allton.
50,000 Foot View vs. “What’s The Next Step”
You can take it a step further and niche down even more to smaller, lesser-known people.
Sometimes when you follow the more popular business gurus who have changed the world – or at least their small piece of it – you get a lot of 50,000-foot views.
That viewpoint can give you some excellent theory and how to have the proper approach on the subject but cannot give you the granular details or actual street level directions.
They can tell you you’re surrounded by mountains with beautiful views, but they can’t tell you you’re about to hit a pothole in the street that’s going to wreck your wheel.
Sometimes it’s good to follow the bigger names just for encouragement and the hype to keep you going because you see what “success” in your niche looks like.
The bigger names often help keep you inspired and focused on the bigger picture.
But maybe you also just need to follow some people who are just five steps ahead of you, because maybe you just need to get a firm grasp on those simple, practical steps on what to do next.
That person five steps ahead of you just saw the pothole and they can tell you all about how deep it is and what you need to do to avoid it.
How To Pick a Business Guru
Every guru you follow should be able to help you get from point A to point B. If they can’t, they’re somebody else’s guru.
Picking a business guru completely depends on who you are and where you are at in your endeavor and where you need to go next.
Maybe you don’t struggle with staying focused and keeping your eye on the prize. Maybe you don’t need that 50,000-foot encouragement.
Because let’s be honest… You’re already as motivated as you’ll ever be, so nothing Tony Robbins says is going to have a significant impact on you.
But you are struggling with some aspect of your social media marketing and you need to learn how to start a conversation with your audience that’s hanging out on Twitter.
So you look for someone who is a social media marketing guru.
Or maybe you already know how, but you need to learn how to streamline it. So you look for some tools that will help you manage your social media content better.
The right business guru can be your hero
By following the right guru, you’ve eliminated the noise and the useless chatter that does not contribute towards achieving your goals that day.
Stay focused so that you can learn it, stick a flag in it, and move to the next step.
Now that you averted disaster at the massive pothole, the next business guru you follow can tell you all about the road closure ahead and how to take a quick detour to get around it.
