BI: Welcome to Business Innovators Magazine…Please introduce yourself and a brief thumbnail of your background.
CB: My name is Cody Butler, I’m one of the world’s leading authorities on lead generation and businesses development. After owning a number of successful businesses ranging from Restaurants to Construction, I now focus on helping other business owners solve the “How to Grow” problem.
BI: How are you different than your competitors?
CB: By thinking in terms of competition and competitors, to me, it’s an outdated and incorrect approach to business.
The only true USP (unique selling proposition) I, or anybody has is that I am me and nobody else can be!
As soon as I shed that uniqueness and try to emulate someone or something else I simply become a commodity and subject to the price pressure and competition the rest of the market experience.
By remaining true to myself and having the confidence to say “the market will accept me for me”…I depart from competition as I’m a one of a kind, unique creation.
That’s when you become a leader, not a follower.
Top brands such as Rolex or Rolls Royce share this position. If you have your heart set on a Rolex, only a Rolex will do. The jeweler has little chance of selling you a Casio, even though it may tell the time just as well!
Clients choose to work with me because of the unique perspective, viewpoint and philosophy only I can bring. I’m not simply regurgitating the thoughts of other leaders within the industry.
If a prospective client would like my input on a matter, obviously they can only get it from me, there is no competition!
This is in fact how we’re all different from our competition, the only difference is some understand it and embrace it, others do not.
BI: What would you say is the area in business that you are most passionate about and why?
CB: That’s easy, sales and marketing. It’s never the best product that wins, it’s always the best-marketed product.
So many people have a great product or service that the world will never know about. Being able to help those people is very exciting and rewarding.
BI: Please tell me about any recent business accomplishments that you are most proud of and why?
CB: I recently moved from the UK to Australia. When I arrived in Australia I started a completely new consultancy business from scratch. Within three months I had replicated the same results in the new business as the business I left behind in the UK.
Why I find this so satisfying is that it 100% validates the systems I operate as replicable and transferable.
It’s great to be able to grow a business but if those skills can’t be transferred to others…they have little value in the marketplace.
A proven, replicable system that can be transferred has immense value.
BI: What Leadership qualities in Leaders do you most admire and why?
CB: To be a leader is to lead which means to be out front ahead of those who are following. A true leader must be prepared to lead the charge and take the first arrow.
A gifted leader understands that failure is a necessary part of success and must be prepared to fail publicly. This, in turn, gives permission to fail to those who are following.
Of course, the story doesn’t end there…the leader must then pick himself up and continue onward, setting the example that failure is not fatal, it’s only temporary and a part of the process.
Look at Thomas Edison, ten thousand failed attempts at the light bulb or Walt Disney, told “No” 302 times before gaining the financial support for Disneyland.
Every great leader and visionary can tell a similar story.
When you read of Edison or Disney, their apparent failure ultimately inspires and compels the follower to advance forward into a fire.
Poor leadership always needs to be seen as successful, which in turn denies the follower the ability to fail.
This does a great disservice and causes the follower to flee the field of battle.
Without failure, success is impossible.
BI: What has been a key element of your success?
CB: The ability to look at a pile of rocks and see a castle!
I have the ability to see things as they could be and not just as they currently are, whether it’s a person or a hard asset.
When you treat a person as who they could be, not who they currently are, they will become that person.
To succeed in business you have to add more value than everybody else.
The easiest way to do that is to take people who can’t see their own value and help them find it for themselves.
It’s not about being great…it’s about helping everybody around you to become great.
The bible also puts it very well, “Those who are last will finish first”. Don’t be afraid to be the least talented person in your organization!
BI: What are some of the business projects that you are currently working on that you are excited about and why?
CB: I’ve recently got a book deal for my new book “Got Attitude…The Difference That Makes ALL the Difference” which is amazing.
A book is a legacy, a permanent record of thoughts, philosophies, and ideas. I’m really excited about putting that out there.
