Power Outlet:

Like the source of electric power, your ability to draw reason from within
yourself to pursue a venture is the forefront of success. You must draw
energy from your power outlet as a foundation to become what you want
to be, whether that is rich, successful, philanthropic, etc. You must have
the power to pursue your dream at all times, and not unplug that cord
from within despite obstacles and negative feedback that you may face.

The Knife:

See an opportunity, and carve out your niche. Often it is difficult to compete with
industry leaders. In this case, using your knife, carve out your own path to give
the industry leaders something that they don’t necessarily have, or work as a
middle man between the corporate beasts and the customers.

The Clamp:

Once you have an idea, you must be confident that your idea will yield
what you desire, whether that is profits, happiness, etc. Like a clamp
holds together pieces of a project, you must clamp your ideas together
and reinforce your confidence that the components of your venture offer
customers the ultimate utility. Clamp your ideas together with an air of
swagger and it will show in your presentations, interpersonal sales,
pitches, and personality and reinforce that you are offering a quality
service/product.

Nuts and Bolts:

After you have established a promising venture, go out and employ others.
A business can only grow so much without the nuts and bolts of an
executive board and the expertise of others. So find those nuts and bolts
that you trust, and work with them towards a common goal. An
accountant, a lawyer, an operations manager, a marketing expert, and
salesmen all help you as the boss and make things a lot easier than if
you were to take on all of those responsibilities by yourself. Surround
yourself with the nuts and bolts who share similar goals with you.

Measuring Tape:
Before your venture, measure your goals. Along the way, compare actual results to your forecast
and keep quantitatively taking measures to live up to. The higher you set your goals and
standards, the more likely you are to achieve financial success.

Chisel:

Never stop developing as a person. Learn new skills. Persistently become

educated on how you can improve your business, your relationships with others,
and how to deal with change. You cannot sit back and rely on the same old
strategy. Learn from mistakes and always chase new knowledge in the pursuit of
building your character and your leadership. Like being carved out by a chisel,
your charisma and your success will show experience from hard work ethic.

Grease gun:

Be relentless in your activities. Drop components that do not yield success,

and continue employing the strategies that do yield success. Like the grease
gun assisted the Tin Man in getting from A to B, you must also give
yourself the grease and energy to be persistent and to facilitate positive
actions and decision making.

Gloves:

Actually execute your plan. Your thoughts and ideas, no matter how brilliant
and optimistic, are nothing without implementation. So strap on your gloves,
go out on to the field, and get dirty. A big part of this is meeting people on
both sides. Find out what customers want, what your competition does, and
meet people with experience. Establish a database of contacts, not just from
the comfort of your home computer, but out in the real world as well.

Hammer:
To attach two pieces of wood together, you must hammer a nail that connects the two pieces. To
attach yourself to customers, you too must nail your marketing campaign. Get your name out
there and advertise effectively. Like Vizio has done with its logo on televisions, make your logo
attractive and memorable. The reputation of your business will soon follow. Hammer away, but
keep in mind how customers will perceive your marketing material.

Vise:

Go big or go home. If you half-ass any venture, you don’t

deserve to be successful. It starts with relationships. We have
been taught in Greif to go out and make as many contacts as
possible. When you meet people, give them a vise grip (not too
hard) handshake and leave a positive impression, and collect
business cards. To keep your venture alive and growing, keep all
components of your business plan together, tight in a vise. The
vise should hold together all tools in your tool belt.