3 Business Lessons Learned From Reading This Year in Jerusalem

A couple of months ago, I came across a book that I'd started reading quite a few years ago. Start Up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer which talks about Israel's economic growth since its creation as an official state in 1948 is a New York Times Bestseller. Around the time the book came out, we were knee deep into the Great Recession and looking for any encouragement to be optimistic as the economy recovered from its near death experience.

Not to say this book promised to reveal the secret sauce of business success, it does provide quite an interesting history of Israel's rise as a world economic power in spite of its hatred and isolation by most of their Arab neighbors. I'm still working my way through the book, but my interests were sparked further. I began to wonder, what's really so special about Israel besides what I thought I knew from the Bible?

On one of my book buying trips, I decided to hunt down a few books specific to Israel. There were 3 books that caught my attention... I've already read all 3:

1. From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman

2. What is a Jew? by Rabbi Morris N. Kertzer (Revised by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman)

3. This Year in Jerusalem by Joel Gross

For today, I'll be talking about This Year in Jerusalem...

Not really sure this book should be called a romance novel (I hope not) or what, but honestly, it was quite a solid read. More than anything, I was drawn in by the historical background that the story takes place: the struggle for the official existence of the state of Israel. The book reads like a movie.

The main character is a 25 year old American Jewish woman (Diana Mann) who's a journalist and is romantically involved with a Nazi concentration camp survivor, Zionist revolutionist by the name of David Stern. He's a commander in the underground Zionist army called the Haganah. Much of what we read in today's news about the struggle and strife among Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews, even in pre-state Israel, there was conflict and war among native native Palestinians, emigrated Jews from the Diaspora, Arabs, and even the British.

The power of the book's story is revealed in Diana's passion of wanting to see the official state of Israel come into existence as well as the confirmation of her undying love and devotion of her lover and eventual husband, David. What's the conflict though? There's another lover of course... Joey Marino.

An American Jew and New York mobster, Joey works for Diana's uncle, Marty Bernstein, whom see asks to help smuggle a boatload of weapons to the Zionist revolutionary forces in Palestine. Along the way from courting help in the States to emigrating to Israel to rescue Diana's lover, David, from a British prison (and certain death), both Diana and Joey find themselves deeply involved with the Zionist freedom fight in Palestine. They both even are trained and sworn in as official Haganah soldiers.

Due to an Arab siege of Jerusalem helped along by the British in order to cause the inhabitant Jewish population to leave so that the Arabs can occupy the 'Old City', David, Diana, and Joey are put in a conflicting situation. Joey, due to his hot headed nature, aids a fellow Haganah comrade with avenging his brother's horrible death by planning to blow up the central part of the Arab's siege of Jerusalem located at the Jaffa Gate. Pretty much, a suicide mission.

Diana, with the full knowledge of her lover (David), finally expresses her sincere love for Joey that she realizes will never be between her and David. She also knows that no matter what she tells Joey, he's already committed to carry out the mission of stopping the Arab's siege at the Jaffa Gate so that food and other resources can reach the Jews in the 'Old City'.

Wow... what a story!!!

As always, no matter what I'm reading, I look for key takeaways to put into action in my consulting practice with small businesses. Here are the 3 business takeaways from reading This Year in Jerusalem by Joel Gross:

Execute with Passion and Without Delay

Once you've done your research on the type of business you're going to operate, it's time to put the plan into action. As my college basketball coach used to tell me, Nothing every happens until you take action... consistent action.

No plan is ever perfect and honestly, you're not looking for a perfect plan... just enough of a plan to get you moving and keep you moving. It's feels funny and really awkward in the beginning especially if you've never done what you're doing before or you don't have the full skills yet. But that's ok... take action, learn from your mistakes, and keep on moving... no matter what.

Both Leaders and Managers Are Needed to Have a Successful Business

In my younger days, I didn't realize that there's quite a difference between those who lead and those who manage. Trust me, there's a HUGE DIFFERENCE!!! I've come to learn that leaders lead through people and managers manage through a plan. What does this mean? Well, leaders know how to get things done through other people. Leaders are able to execute on a wider vision and purpose and not get bogged down in the day to day details of operations. They are ever aware of the heartbeat of the entire operation and are able to pivot and adjust based on what's needed at a higher level.

What about managers? Very much needed by the way. Managers, I've come to believe, are the ones that keep the operations on the tracks. They are the ones that are knee deep in the day to day details. They're specialists that know what buttons to push and levers to lift to make the heartbeat of the operations that they're responsible for good to go.

There Are No Shortcuts... There's Only Sacrifice

When you hear or listen to talk of small business ownership, you often hear the word 'risk' a lot. For good reason... there are all sorts of risks involved with owning and operating a small business. The key isn't to try to have a riskless business... that's not possible in the world we live in. What is possible though is to learn and grow to handle different types of risks. Develop the skills to be a problem solver no matter the situation.

Also, there are times when you will lose. Losing is a part of the game of small business ownership. When these losses do happen, you'll probably sacrifice something to which you don't want to give up. Whether that's money, self assurance, personal or business relationships... the weight of the sacrifice may seem unbearable and no doubt it can be. But here's the key: You gotta keep going. Yes, it will take some time to recover and figure things out, but the one thing you can't do is stop and quit. You'll have time to quit when you're dead and gone... in the meantime, process, forgive yourself, try again, and KEEP GOING.