What business owners can learn from Queen Victoria
Victoria Day is just a few days away, and it occurred to me that most people probably think of Queen Victoria as a shy, retiring old lady who spent most of her life in mourning, neglecting her royal duties.
But they’d be wrong.
In fact, she was a dedicated, strong-willed business powerhouse who ran her own huge company—the British Empire. And we can actually learn a few things from her about what it takes to manage a business.
She kept to a strict work schedule
Queen Victoria had a strict daily schedule and was adamant about sticking to it. From 9:00 until lunch she completed correspondence and other paperwork, and wrote in her journal. In the afternoon she met with members of her parliament and other important visitors, often well into the evening. Somewhere in there, she also regularly spent time painting and sketching.
Take-away lesson: If you want to get a lot done, a set schedule is the way to go. Without one, it is far too easy for things to keep getting tabled for later. Having a schedule—along with the mindset that you will stick to it—gives you a solid framework to get things done.
She journaled daily
From a very young age, Victoria kept a daily journal. In fact, she was so dedicated to it that she put journaling into her daily schedule. Apparently she wrote an average of 2,000 words per day!
If you’ve taken one of my boot camps, you know that that I’m a huge fan of journaling. It gives you time to reflect on, process, and capture ideas. Here are just a few of the benefits that I regularly see for myself.
I capture ideas that I come up with during the day. I may not finish fleshing out those ideas that day, but I’ve recorded them for future reference. In fact, I carry a journal around with me so that whenever an idea comes to mind I can jot it down.
It helps me process issues. I jot down thoughts about how to solve any problems I may be facing in my business. Then I do some mind-mapping and brainstorming. If I come up with a solution in the same journaling session, great. If not, I have my notes and can pick up where I left off at a later date.
Writing helps solidify my thoughts. Writing (as opposed to typing) helps solidify thoughts in your brain. It find it helps me process issues more fully, thereby giving me the best chance of coming up with great ideas and plans.
Take-away lesson: Journaling can be a key component in developing insight into problems, planning for the future, and evaluating where you are currently at.
She planned for the long term
Victoria believed in looking at the bigger picture and how a decision might affect the future. For example, in her time, wars and skirmishes were commonplace. From a young age, Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, began planning for how they could bring lasting peace to Europe. While you may not agree with the plan they came up with—marrying their children off to royalty of other European countries—you can probably at least see the wisdom in their long-term planning approach.
Take-away lesson: One of the best ways to have sustained success in your business is to plan for the future. Making quick decisions just to satisfy a problem today will probably not stand you in very good stead for the long term. Successful business owners plan for the future, and make decisions with that framework in mind.
She never stopped learning
Victoria saw the merits of life-long learning. Even in her old age she kept learning new things.
At age 60, Parliament gave her the title “Empress of India”. Wanting to learn more about India, she had one of her servants, an Indian, teach her about his homeland. He became a trusted aide who taught her about the land and its people. She also had him teach her Hindi and Urdu, two of the country’s languages, so she could converse with her Indian subjects, should the need ever arise.
Take-away lesson: As a business owner, you want to always be “growing”. That means opening your mind up to new ideas and learning new skills. You don’t want to stagnate. The world is constantly changing, and you want to keep up with those changes (e.g. learning to use Zoom during the pandemic). Learning helps you look at things from a new perspective, which can be very helpful when trying to solve a problem. The actual process of learning also exercises your brain and helps keep your mind sharp.
She believed in life balance
Although she kept to a strict and grueling work schedule, the Queen made a point of bringing laughter and relaxation into her life.
One of the phrases attributed to her is “we are not amused”. Many people have taken this to mean she was a sour woman. It’s true that, when the situation demanded it, she could be stern and tough. But she actually loved to laugh. In her senior years, after her husband died, she made a point of keeping servants around her that could make her chuckle. She liked their unstuffy, down-to-earth manner.
She also loved to spend time in nature. She said it rejuvenated her. She would regularly take extended holidays to the countryside. And she took time for hobbies such as sketching and painting. Like journaling, she put these activities into her daily schedule.
Take-away lesson: Build balance into your schedule. Too much work and your personal life will suffer. Too much leisure and your business will suffer. But if you strike the right balance between the two, each will benefit. A healthy, happy you means you are energized at work. Likewise, paying the right amount of attention to work means you are fulfilled and have money for leisure. But spending too much time on your business will drain you and negatively impact your personal life.
She saw her role as being in charge of helping people
The Queen took her role as leader of her people very seriously. She felt it was her duty to look after her subjects. As a young queen, she wrote the following.
“Since it has pleased Providence to place me in this station, I shall do my utmost to fulfill my duty towards my country…I am sure that very few have more real good will and more real desire to do what is fit and right than I have.”
During her reign, she undertook many projects aimed at helping her subjects. Here are just a few:
She donated a large sum of her own to money to help the starving Irish during the Great Potato Famine.
When India fell under British rule, she made a proclamation that its inhabitants were guaranteed religious freedom.
She passed the Reform Act, which gave working men the vote.
Her people loved her for such efforts and she earned the nickname “Mother”.
Take-away lesson: No matter what type of business you have, the core of it is helping people. Whether that’s selling a needed product to a customer, or providing a business service to a company, it’s all about helping someone. Having the mindset that you are here to help people solve a certain type of problem will go a long way to providing outstanding customer service. And that is the core of any successful business.
Cheers,
Tim
Helping you engineer the business of you