Greed is an interesting subject in that it has a slippery, hard-to-notice side that moves us in directions that often don’t serve our personal or financial well being.  Sure, we are all aware of holding onto things we should be sharing or asking for more than is fair; that’s the obvious stuff.  It’s the subtleties of greed, and their impact as they relate to Family First Entrepreneurs that I want to speak about here.

Family First Entrepreneurs have “special needs” that we expect others to respect in our working life and they mostly involve time, because is our most precious commodity.  Often we will set a precedent with business partners or an associate which allows us the time we need to keep our families first.  One subtle, greedy side of this is supporting and even encouraging the same for them at a personal cost to ourselves.

Family First Entrepreneurs must be mindful of equal exchange in business interactions because as a group we are very relationship-oriented in business.  It is what supports our foundation of wealth creation and must be nurtured.  Maintain a vigilant “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” mentality and you will surround yourself with the people that will make your dreams come true.

Another very common unseen form of greed that entrepreneurs face is the loading up of opportunity by juggling many balls at once.  It is our nature.  It is greed for money, power, control, acknowledgment, or achievement that tempts us to be willing to put too much on our plates and takes precious time from our families.

This one is a continual personal struggle for me.  To halt its progression I developed the “Ready-Aim-Fire” system for making decisions which I deal with in great detail in my book, ONO. When I use this system, I lock into my logical side and it allows me to measure time, potential rewards, and risk.  This allows for greed to be exorcised from the decision-making process because often greed walks hand-in-hand with emotion.

We are all affected by greed in different ways and at different levels.  The key is to be aware of where and when it shows up for you and what the potential consequences are.  When you become aware, potential solutions are around the corner when you’re ready.  Don’t let greed shortchange your full potential as a Family First Entrepreneur and be wary of its subtleties.