5 Important Business Tips from Dave Ramsey

Most people in the financial world have heard of Dave Ramsey. With his bestselling book, The Total Money Makeover and his famous financial education course Financial Peace University, Dave has helped millions of people get out of debt and learn how to manage their money. What some may not know is that he has also become a key influencer in the business, leadership, and entrepreneurial world.

I had the pleasure of recently attending one of Mr. Ramsey’s live events in Nashville, TN (the EntreLeadership One Day event) and boy was it a treat. Although I was able to attend the conference for free (I won free tickets!), I would have definitely paid to attend as the speakers were all phenomenal. Anyone who works in a leadership role or who is a current or aspiring business owner would unquestionably gain tremendous value from attending one of these events.

So, what was so great about the conference? First of all, the speakers were incredibly entertaining and all had very timely and relevant messages. The panel for this event included Christy Wright, Chris Hogan, Patrick Lencioni and of course the man himself, Dave Ramsey. The topics that were discussed included the essentials of business communication, qualities of a great leader, and what personal characteristics to look for when building a team. The best part about these topics is that they aren’t revolutionary. The speakers discussed simple concepts that every business in every industry should be doing, but are often overlooked. Here are five important business tips I learned from the EntreLeadership conference.

#1 Hold Employees Accountable
As Dave said it best himself, “you cannot assume that simply hiring a person for the job guarantees that they are going to work.” If you find yourself in a situation where an employee continues to break the rules, you owe it to them to point it out each time. Either the individual will eventually stop the behavior or they will discover that the job isn’t for them. Either of these are much better than just allowing the individual to continue under performing, as this will ultimately lead to poor morale within the rest of the organization.

#2 Stop Hiring Based on Skills
Skills can be taught but personality cannot in most cases. It is much better to hire a person that has a great attitude and fits well into your organizational culture than it is to hire a person that has awesome skills but a bad attitude. The people that make great team members are people that are “humble, hungry, and smart.” All three traits are essential for your employees to possess in order to help your business grow.

#3 Get to Know Employees Personally
No one wants to come to work every day and feel like they are just a number. When leaders and managers take the time to get to know their employees personally, it helps them feel more appreciated and valued. People that feel appreciated will happily work hard for their organization and go above and beyond. Those that don’t feel valued however will do just the bare minimum to get a paycheck.

#4 Understand Two Way Communication
Most people think that when you communicate with others, the most important thing is the message itself. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The communicator must make sure that that the message is clear, but also that it is presented in a manner that the person can understand and accept the message. The communicator must also be aware of their history and relationship with the person they are communicating with, as well as the nature of the message. This will help determine the best methods for getting the message across. If the message is complex for example, email may not be the best vehicle. Timing is also an important factor. For example, if someone just had a death in the family it may not be the right time to discuss their performance flaws.

#5 Be a Passionate Leader
Being a passionate leader will lead to having passionate followers. This involves sharing your vision in a way that people can see how they fit in, and how their individual contributions can help achieve the organizational goals. Everyone within the organization should feel as though they have a purpose and are a valued team member.

These are just a few topics that stood out to me after attending the conference. For those who can’t attend a live event you can grab the EntreLeadership book, which also contains valuable information on business and leadership essentials, or listen to the EntreLeadership podcast.

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Click the images below to start reading Dave Ramsey’s bestselling books, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership.

Here is a list of the other Ramsey personalities who spoke at the EntreLeadership 1 Day Event. Click the images to learn more about them their books.

Christy Wright – bestselling author and certified business coach

Chris Hogan – bestselling author, financial coach

Patrick Lencioni – bestselling author, professional business and leadership consultant

About the Author
Hi. I’m Salimah Jones, Family Nurse Practitioner, author, and expert nursing career consultant. As the founder of The Nursing Guide I help aspiring and current nurses achieve success in their nursing careers. I have been in the healthcare field for over 10 years and have extensive experience in nursing education, leadership, and management. I had to overcome tremendous obstacles in my life to get to where I am now. I would love help you on your nursing journey. CLICK HERE to join The Nursing Guide Facebook Group and to connect we me and the other community members.