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Anthony Scaramucci: How entrepreneurs can manage fear in times of crisis

What's the worst thing that could happen, and can you live with that?

  • Anthony Scaramucci isn't afraid to admit his failures as an entrepreneur. The founder and managing partner of investment firm SkyBridge Capital says it's the journey that matters, and that being an entrepreneur means accepting that some things, including successes and failures, are out of your control.
  • A hard but necessary question that entrepreneurs have to ask themselves is if they can live with the worst case scenario.
  • In a time of crisis, Scaramucci's advice is to clear your mind, accept all possible outcomes, and to dial down fear-based instincts so that you focus on being aggressive in business.
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Haven’t found your niche? This might be why.

Most people don't know what they're passionate about.

  • A niche, in terms of the economy and what you do for a living, is often considered a special talent or service that speaks to you on a different, secondary level. Adam Davidson, co-founder of NPR's "Planet Money" argues that when a niche finds an audience and becomes a successful business, it evolves into its own primary economy.
  • For most people, finding something you're passionate about can take a long time. The search should happen concurrently with your current job and life, not in place of them.
  • It won't be easy and there will have to be sacrifices, Davidson says. But when it's something that you can't live without doing, then it is worth investing the time and effort.

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Finding your purpose: A less intimidating approach

Removing the pressure of finding your "dying passion" makes it easier to connect with the "why" of your work.

  • Do you know your purpose in life? If not, London Business School professor Dan Cable says that's OK. It's normal, even.
  • Many people have trouble finding their purpose because the task itself is too demanding. One way to solve this problem is by connecting with the end user of your work.
  • For example, Microsoft will take its teams on site to interview clients and find solutions. Programmers understand who's using their products by hearing it straight from the source, and this gives more meaning to their work.
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Corporate culture wasn’t built for women. Here’s how to fix that.

Here's how corporations can bring women out from the "leadership pipeline" and into actual leadership.

  • Women in high-stakes positions are scrutinized far more than men, says Tina Brown, to the point that they feel they have to be "gold in a silver job" and be absolute perfectionists to merely keep their position.
  • For women, being a parent necessitates parental leave and companies must develop ways to keep females engaged so that they are able to integrate back into work smoothly. Women, too, must lobby for this change.
  • Six to eight months of sequential parental leave may not be the best approach for keeping women engaged and on their career paths, says Brown, who thinks it might be more productive to take trenches of time throughout your career as a parent, as opposed to one huge chunk.
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Why savvy business people build relationship capital

Good relationship capital can change your business forever, explains Shark Tank investor Daymond John.

  • Relationship capital is one of the most overlooked facets of doing good business, says investor and entrepreneur Daymond John.
  • Savvy entrepreneurs know that digging into the relationships that they've nurtured for 5, 10, or 20 years is what pays the best dividends. That doesn't happen passively. You must build your reputation and take great care to be authentic in your interactions, says John.
  • Relationship capital is symbiotic and becomes a network. When two parties genuinely look after each other over the long term, that goodwill spreads across both their networks and brings tens or hundreds of new transactions instead of just one initial deal.
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