Think Big: Reach for the Sky

Rule # 8 from "The Entrepreneur"

February 11, 2005

"If you build it, they will come."  This was Heinecke's motto when he dared to reach for the sky and do the impossible - build a 4-star hotel in a backpacker city close to a bandit country where rogue warlords rule and huge volumes of opium poppies are grown, and at a time when the tourist market has collapsed, the economy is on a tailspin, and a violent coup has just occurred.  And just when people thought that Heinecke has lost his mind, his group decided to build a 5-star hotel instead, and eventually ended up with a 6-star one.  My, my...

If there's something called 'reaching for the sky', this is it.  If it failed, then people will probably refer to it as 'the most ridiculous alternative to burning cash' for the rest of their lives.  But it didn't, and Heinecke lives to tell a great story about what turned out to be his greatest pride - the Regent Chiang Mai.

Heinecke, self-made multi-millionaire, recounts this story in his book, "The Entrepreneur."  This book presents 21 golden rules on global business management, Rule # 8 of which goes like this:  "Reach for the Sky (At least Once)." The Regent Chiang Mai saga was his example in illustrating this point.  Well, point well taken, Mr. Heinecke.

Today, Regent Chiang Mai is said to be one of the world's greatest hotels, having been showered with numerous awards from travel magazines, tourism bodies, and conservation groups.  At rates of up to $2,000 a day for a suite, it has certainly lives up to its billing of being the star in Heinecke's sky.

Not everyone will have the chance to build a hotel like Heinecke, nor should anybody try to.  After all, each one of us has his own unique 'sky'. The important thing is for us to know what we want to do, and to reach for the sky when we do it.  Heinecke didn't want to be a Henry Ford nor a Bill Gates even though his writings showed he admired them. This is because he wanted to do other things - like build hotels and restaurants that will give people unforgettable experiences.

Thus, if you want to open a small cafeteria in a place teeming with people from various office buildings nearby, consider applying for a bigger loan and build a larger restaurant instead.  If you see that there's money to be made by transporting people from your village to the industrial zones where they work, then don't just buy a jeepney - buy a fleet of them.

Be careful though, because 'reaching for the sky' is not for newbies in entrepreneurship.   In fact, if you think about it, Rule # 8 of "The Entrepreneur" can be interpreted as contradictory to Rule # 6, which states, "Set goals, but go easy on the 'vision' thing."  Isn't reaching for the sky synonymous with being a visionary?  After all, you can't reach for the sky without being able to think far ahead.  

Well, I guess the qualifier here is that Rule # 6 is meant for people who are still greenhorns at starting new ventures, whereas Rule # 8 is meant for people who have already established a proven track record, and comes across a 'big' opportunity to exceed this track record by leaps and bounds.  This is why Heinecke even subtitled his Rule # 8 with the phrase "at least once", which implies that reaching for the sky is not supposed to be a routinary thing.  In short, Rule # 8 only contradicts Rule # 6 if it is done by newbies.

Reaching for the sky is often a high-risk high-return deal.  The reason why it can generate huge paybacks is because it can also create tremendous havoc on your business if things go sour.  As Heinecke puts it, "For me, that project of a lifetime is without doubt the Regent Chiang Mai.  This property, which opened in 1995, has always meant something special to me.  It was born in a crisis and could have done my business serious damage if it had failed. Instead, it has become the jewel in our crown."

Indeed it was a gamble with too much at stake.  But they reached for the sky and won in the end.  Yes, they built it, and they came.

See also:   Find a Vacuum and Fill It;   Do Your Homework;   Have Fun In Your Work;   

Work Hard, Play Hard;   Use Other People's Brains;   Set Goals;   Trust Your Intuition;   Learn To Sell  

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