Take pride in what you do.” “Hard work brings success.” “Honesty is the best policy.” These words of wisdom will undoubtedly sound familiar to anyone who has grown up in or around a family business. And at face value, they are all in fact sound pieces of advice. Interpreting them successfully in the context of your own present life, however, is a tricky business. As with all advice, you have to keep in mind that positive intention does not always guarantee success.

 So what’s the best strategy for integrating “old-world” wisdom into our contemporary lives? Well, one good place to start is to look at a few commonly held aphorisms and communicated ideas, and subject them to a modern-day reality check.

“Work hard.”

What they meant: “You have to work hard. Nobody ever got anywhere by slacking off. Success takes a lot of hard work and commitment; it doesn’t come easy.”

What you heard: “So I don’t get to have a life. I have to sacrifice myself – body and soul 24-7 – if I want my business to succeed.”

The truth: Being successful in business means being a role model in your business, which does indeed require hard work and commitment. That said, it is important to maintain the objectivity that allows you to the freedom to work smart while you are working hard. Remember: you’re responsible to be the role model for your own life too!

“Be honest.”

What they meant: “Be truthful and honest. Don’t lie, cheat, or steal.”

What you heard: “I must strive to be as honest with my customers and my employees as I am with myself.”

The truth: Assuming that you’d never consider cheating or stealing, how can honesty get you into trouble?

Simple: if someone asked you, “Do these pants make me look fat?” are you sure that an honest answer would always be the best idea? Tough call. And business is guaranteed to offer you even more … uhhm … complicated scenarios. 

As an alternative to “be honest,” you might want to consider “maintain your integrity.” After all, if you possess integrity – the ability to stand behind your principles – you’re not likely to run into troubles with honesty.

“Take pride in your work.”

What they meant: “Take pride in your work! Your work is who you are.”

What you heard: “I am my business. If my business isn’t a success, than neither am I.”

The truth: When you invest yourself in your business, all its ups and downs are naturally reflected in your own life. Nothing wrong with that at all as, ideally, your business is a physical manifestation of your principles.

However…..

“To err is human,” as the saying goes, so it is impossible to completely avoid making a strategic error or three from time to time. You may simply lack the knowledge or lack a mature enough business perspective to always craft the optimal strategy. Whatever the reason, neither your own values, nor those of your business, should ever be at the mercy of an unexpected outcome. 

What reflects your values is your ability to stick to your principles, learn from your mistakes, adjust your behaviour and strategies as often as needed, and consistently be your best.

That, friends, is the source of genuine and limitless pride in your business.

Sensible alchemy 

In the final analysis, all these pieces of advice have some intrinsic value. But even assuming that they were all given with positive intention and based on experience, there is still a caveat: advice is always created and communicated through the lens of experience of the people offering it. As such, anyone expecting value from advice has the responsibility of reframing it to match their own current context.

Look at it this way, the next time you are offered an “old-world” pearl of wisdom, rather than dismissing it out of hand as impractical, why not accept the responsibility of finding your own value in it? 

You may find that when you string enough of these pearls together, they can be made into a contemporary necklace that’s worth a fortune to you.  

Miin Lim is a senior business advisor at Ascent Group, a firm specializing in optimizing service delivery to generate revenue & create sustainable long-term value. Contact Miin at contact@pushthelimit.com and the team at www.pushthelimit.com.