This week’s motivational phrase is:

Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity – Will Smith.

This is the second time in a row I have used a quote by Will Smith. Some may dismiss his words. But know this before you do, he hit super stardom that rocketed him into the millions at an early age. To match his meteoric rise was his plummeting fall early in his career. But Smith did not give up and he fought to reach his pinnacle again. He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as the only actor to have eight consecutive movies, in which he has starred, to open at the number one position. I say all of this to point out that his words were come by through experience rather than a re-quote.

Most of society lives in the “realistic” world. Being an entrepreneur, your station is to strive for the unrealistic while keeping a firm grasp on reality. If the entrepreneurs before us had stuck to what was realistic at the time, we would never have enjoyed personal computers and all the wonderment that they have brought and other markets they have spawned. We would not have televisions, the automobile and so much more. Do not let your dreams and aspirations be trounced by what is realistic. Find a way to make your vision, however unrealistic, into a reality. That’s part of what entrepreneurs do. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Blaze your own trail and make a new road. Create a new sense of what is possible and set the new benchmark for realistic.

Jack of all trades and master of none. What a true and valid statement. Most entrepreneurs, at one time or another, have tried to be all things to all people. Playing multiple roles may be necessary in the infancy of your business, but attempting to cover the full gamut of products and/or services is a big mistake. I fell prey to this mistake years ago.

I founded a tech company based on providing excellent client service. I wanted my clients to feel comfortable talking to me. I wanted to treat them the way I wanted to be treated before I entered the technology arena. It seemed as though many businesses in the tech sector talked to the laymen in tech jargon either because they thought the client understood or to give themselves the upper hand in the conversation by keeping their client bewildered. I started my entity with a main focus of avoiding that particular scenario. I would concentrate on providing excellent client service and talk to my clients on a level that they understood which would, in turn, bring more comfortability in their continued patronage of my business.

As my business grew, so did my product offering and my services. My business originally retailed computer systems, parts, and peripherals. We also serviced computer systems, parts, and peripherals. That was the original mandate of the company and we were very good at what we did. All the while we were able to maintain my original ideals. As the company grew, the list of products and services grew in a logical procession. We offered networking products and setting up networks on-site. That grew into more complex network offerings which morphed into our company becoming the main installation and support mechanism for a wireless internet company. Things expanded so much that at one point we actually sold mobile phones and mobile phone service.

We became a jack of all trades and master of none. We became mediocre in all the arenas that we were involved in. We began to lose touch with the roots of the ideals that I setup in the beginning which was excellent client service and making the client comfortable when conversing with us about their problems. As a result, our revenue was just mediocre. As you may well know, a company that is just mediocre is easy to displace. I finally pulled my head from the fog and realized what had happened. It was a startling discovery indeed and the situation needed to be corrected immediately.

Without going into the intricate details of the daily corrective measures, I will summarize my actions. I formed a new tech company with a partner. He owned a tech company that shared similar ideals as mine but it seemed as though his company also fell prey to the same situation. We both had that in common as well as a powerful need to correct it. We formed the new company and absorbed the previous two companies which included all liabilities and assets. What we did not absorb was the “jack of all trades” mindset. We focused on excellent client service and narrowed our field of mastery. We were no longer a jack of all trades and master of none. We mastered our excellent client service so well that we pioneered new services and processes that helped garner our company a hefty majority market share. Now, because we continually aspire to excellence in a narrow field and refuse mediocrity within our field, it is extremely difficult for any other entity, regardless of size, to supplant us. Excellent client service is so important to us that it is one of the items in our Code of Conduct. It is an item that all current and future team members must agree to uphold if they want to continue to be part of our team.

In the beginning it may be important for you to be all people in the infancy of your business. But you must not be all things. It may seem scary to focus your field. You may fear that you will lose business. However, if you quit being a jack of all trades and become a master in your primary field of expertise, the business you lose in the areas for which you are not a master will be more than compensated for in your mastered field. If you are going to strive for something, be excellent and master your core competency rather than being average at everything. The world has too many average businesses. Do not aspire to mediocrity.