Upon boarding my flight to Mexico last week, did I eagerly wait the arrival of the bar cart? Maybe, but not before cracking open the book Great by Choice by Jim Collins. I recommend the book because it provides new approaches to success. One takeaway in the book is not new: we’ve got to work each day. Just like the anecdote in the book’s introduction about Norwegian explorer Amundsen, we have to put in miles each day. In a race to the South Pole, Amundsen's unprepared rival Scott and his crew froze to death, likely after resorting to cannibalism. On a trip to sunny Cabo, there's nothing like a morbid, frost-bite pep talk.
While I walked around downtown Cabo San Lucas, I noticed many small shops and businesses—and the lack of Amazon delivery trucks. I thought: Jeff Bezos likely wants his trucks and warehouses here, too. Amazon is tireless like that. But so are: we. Our mission and our software can serve a global audience. We can help businesses connect from St. Louis to San Lucas. The shop local movement, known as compra local down there, is important for that community and those around the world.
When I bought souvenirs for friends, one store had a very tech-savvy credit card terminal that I’d not seen before. Other stores have things to teach us. It made me think that this store and others like it will fit in nicely in our Bridge community.
Our goal at Bridge is to work hard each day, to figuratively break a sweat in our mission to expand the number of stores that we help. Fortunately, unlike Amundsen and his men, we don’t face the threat of icy death. (Gosh, wouldn’t that be motivating!) If Amundsen were alive today, would he have aspired to be a tech titan? How would he manage a burgeoning e-commerce community? When we read books like this, we can garner clues.
We all have our own expeditions. I look forward to hearing about the success of yours. If you get the chance, pick up this book and see if it helps you get there.