Posts by Fran Tarkenton
Finding Your Confidence
We might like to believe otherwise, but the reality is that things don’t always go smoothly. Whether you’re just starting out, or have been in business for decades, no matter how successful you are or what you do, there are surprises waiting around the corner, obstacles for you to overcome, and problems to solve. So…
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Focus on Key Performance Indicators
To succeed in business, you need to see the signs. The signs are reality. It’s true in business the same way that it is true in sports, relationships, or any other part of life. But what does it mean to see the signs in business? What should you be looking for? On the one hand,…
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Innovation Builds on the Past
For a solid example of true innovation, we can do no better than to turn to the most prolific innovator in American history, Thomas Alva Edison, who was awarded a record 1,093 U.S. patents, including patents for electric lighting and the phonograph. As creative as he was, Edison readily admitted to making mistakes, but he…
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How Asking Questions Leads to Success
I have often said that I have never had an original idea. I can’t speak for anyone else, but in my life everything I’ve learned has come from what I see, what I hear, and what I read. But above all, I like to learn from watching and listening, so I make a point of…
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Stop Waiting for the Perfect Time
Many “wantrepreneurs” miss out on success because they let opportunities pass them by. They are waiting for the “perfect time.” My idea isn’t quite ready, they say. Or, the time just isn’t right. Maybe, I need to wait for something else to happen first. I don’t have any idea what a perfect time is to…
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There Are No Silver Bullets
I have a pet phrase that I use often, “There are no silver bullets.” In other words, there are no shortcuts to success. To this day, I’m still amazed at how often my phone rings, or an email comes in that says, “Come join me, I have the greatest product in the world! If you’ll…
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Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. We all have strengths and weaknesses. There are things I am good at, and things I’m not good at. The biggest disasters come when we don’t recognize our weaknesses and act as if they were strengths—or even when we do recognize something is a weakness but…
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Why Entrepreneurs Need to Be Scramblers
The things I did to become a better quarterback in the NFL have also had a major impact on my life in business. The principles from one directly applied to the other. As a quarterback, I was known as a scrambler. When a play starts to break down, there’s nobody open and the defense is…
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Stay Focused on the Moment
When I stepped onto the football field, I was not consciously thinking beyond the moment. Above all, I was not thinking about winning or losing. In the rest of my football career that followed, in college and in the NFL, I never thought about winning or losing. Not against Texas on September 20, 1958, in…
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A Winning Culture Starts at Home
For me, my parents’ example was a lifelong lesson in the most fundamental fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Dad pursued his two passion—religion and education—while always finding ways to keep us fed, clothed, and housed. He never put our welfare on the line. He might have been a preacher, but he never preached to us. He walked…
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