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What I learned from Mark Voytek - entrepreneur and angel investor:
Turn perceived setbacks or mistakes into opportunities. Made a mistake? Good! Learn from it and don't make it again (certainly not a third time). It can make you better, so appreciate it, don't dwell on it. Let it put a pep in your step and teach you something you won't soon forget - how to improve.
Follow the rule of twenty touches. If you want to build a relationship that will benefit you and be a real opportunity for connection and learning, follow the rule of twenty touches. Did you see something that made you think of that person? Send it to them with a quick note! Do you have time for coffee next week? Schedule it. People are still people, no matter what position they are in or what title they hold. They will respond to the way you treat them, so treat them in the way you want the relationship to build.
Keep your word. It's more rare than you think. Want to be forgettable? Don't keep your word and get to things when you can. Want someone to take notice of your effort? Do what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it. Plain and simple and rarely done.
I met Mark Voytek while he was taking his dogs to the dog park, and I had no idea who he was, but I had a clue he was someone. He has that air about him. I'm not sure what it is, but you just know he's intelligent and you can sorta tell he is involved with all the right stuff and knows all the right people. You just know he's someone.
It wasn't just the Northwestern University fleece that tipped me off; it was the way he actually paid attention to this bozo when I spoke with him. I had come from the gym to take Delilah to the park and despite looking like I might have jumped straight out of my gym bag, he took me seriously when I told him about my podcast. He not only took me seriously, but then offered to be on it when I asked him to. He was genuine from jump, and there's something to be said that.
Maybe it's because he is a self-starter who recognized that I was trying to get a project off the ground. He has been building businesses in one way or another since his first paper route, which, much like everything else he has helped build, he grew into something bigger than it was before he was done with it. Now, he advises and invests in businesses on a much larger scale through Next Stage Trajectory and VoyTechnology Partners (just take a look at his LinkedIn profile), but the principles he uses are much the same. Treat people like they have value, determine what they bring to the table, and move to where the puck will be. In business, it will do you good to anticipate what's coming and how to be there, but keep it within sight of the goal, because going further out than that, things become unpredictable.
What you can predict is how people will respond to how you treat them. If you give people a chance to prove themselves and they take that chance to genuinely try, they are showing you who they are. If they take the opportunity to make a mistake and not learn from it? They're showing you who they are there, too. That's where he inverts the pyramid in business and gives the new recruit some responsibility to see what they do with it. These are huge learning opportunities for all parties - the new person gets some hands-on experience, and Mark gets to figure out where he can help them learn and develop. Inverting the pyramid and doing things differently is a true win-win.
And it has helped Mark to achieve an incredible amount of success. He has had a solid career, he has built businesses, he has made meaningful connections with colleagues, many of whom he can call friends; and he is living his dreams of becoming guest lecturer at a number of the same university programs he didn't get into back when he was a student. All the while, he has done what - for so many - seems impossible, and stayed humble and connected to family.
How has he managed to keep it all in balance? Well, you'll have to listen to learn more about that. He makes it all seem so simple, and - well - it sort of is, when you break it down. Be the kind of person who can be on their way to their next important business trip, and still takes the time for a game of fetch with the dogs. Put in the time, even those few minutes, where it counts and lets you reconnect. That seems to be at least part of the key to Mark's many successes, so I'm taking notes. I can't wait for you to hear some of the stories he told during the episode. This is one to bookmark!
https://www.voytechnologypartners.com/
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