Paulo de Vilhena , renowned specialist in accelerating business results, launches his latest book, “Leverage”, by DVS Editora. Inspired by Archimedes’ Leverage Principle, Vilhena presents innovative strategies to drive healthy business growth, challenging conventional concepts of business management.
Contrary to the idea of exhausting efforts in incessant work, the author highlights the importance of identifying and using strategic levers to take businesses to new levels. Exploring methods to reduce resistance and overcome obstacles to execution, Vilhena prioritizes strategic planning over day-to-day operational activities.
With more than two decades of experience working alongside global companies, Vilhena discusses the fundamental types of business leverage, organization of the fundamental principles of SME management and the crucial importance of effective planning. “Leverage” challenges the simplistic adoption of ready-made formulas, offering deep, actionable insights to encourage business leaders to discover the unique levers for meaningful growth.
How did the Leverage Principle, described by Archimedes, inspire you to develop strategies to drive business growth?
I can’t say that it was Archimedes’ principle that inspired me to develop anything, it was much more to realize that the solution to problems in companies was to multiply our productivity, that is, to maximize the impact of the resources used. Later I understood that in physics the same principle had already been debunked. From there, building the analogy was one step.
What approach do you take to the importance of strategy compared to day-to-day operational activities?
Most entrepreneurs tend to have an operational focus, that is, on the activities that need to be performed on a day-to-day basis. This happens because most entrepreneurs have an essentially technical profile and therefore tend to be good operators. But these technical activities are not focused on growing business results and only on doing what needs to be done well. To grow a company we need a strategy, engineering in the organization of the resources at our disposal, aimed at increasing long-term results. To achieve this, the entrepreneur must develop his entrepreneurial and managerial skills.
What methods do you explore in the book to reduce resistance and overcome obstacles to execution?
I would say that the essential thing, in order to reduce this resistance, is to broaden the entrepreneur’s awareness, in order to understand where the application of the scarce resources at his disposal will have the greatest impact. It should be noted that when I talk about resources, I am almost always referring to time, people and money. And this broadening of consciousness is the study of a life and is never finished. However, as consultants, we need to give people practical tools to help with this process. Therefore, the process must include planning, operational and results measurement and tuning. Within this, some additional tools can be mentioned, such as checklists, software, scripts, meetings, performance evaluations, etc.
How do you highlight the importance of people as a source of business value?
Within a company, all ideas come from people. Execution depends on people, interaction with customers depends on people, so all the economic value created originates from them. If you prefer to put it another way, conceptually, we only have business activity from the moment we form a team and have people working with us, achieving the most basic levels of leverage. Until then we are self-employed. The entrepreneur’s challenge is to create the environment so that these people are close to their maximum potential.
What are the fundamental types of business leverage discussed in the book?
In business management we truly gain or lose leverage with every decision we make, including the most mundane and simple decisions that are made on a day-to-day basis. In the book we seek to multiply countless ways to seek this leverage. From planning, measurement, productivity, strategy, marketing, commercial process, social architecture, systematization, recruitment, training, communication, technology and so on.
Do you share specific ideas for driving sales growth? If so, what are these ideas?
More than specific ideas, because these will depend on each business and each moment in time, what I always intend with my books is to present models that help structure the thinking of businesspeople, in order to help them activate their brain in the sense of constantly being able to find these ideas. Increasingly, in business, what is a good idea today is no longer working tomorrow. What I believe we need is models that help us know where to find these ideas.
Is Leverage described as a guide to instant solutions or as a work that challenges the simplistic adoption of ready-made formulas? Why?
Without hesitation the second alternative! As I say in the book, we are experiencing a wave of unrealistic promises driven by strictly commercial approaches — and which increase the burden of frustration on the shoulders of many entrepreneurs who apply the so-called “infallible formulas” and see their businesses fail.
There are no five easy things that, if I do, will exponentially increase my company’s results. There are no companies that work without their leaders or that only require four hours of work per week. See, many of the contents — books, courses, articles — that make these promises obviously bring good reflections and tools. However, to capture the public’s attention, they simplify extremely serious topics that generate expectations that will not be met.
The great truth is that each company is different. Each economic environment is a different economic environment. The business scenario itself changes every day, the competition changes, reacts, innovates. In other words, there are a series of variables over which we, businesspeople and entrepreneurs, have no control, and which often attack us.
How do you encourage business leaders to rethink their approaches to challenges?
Essentially challenging them to escape common sense and have the courage to question what they have always believed in. In order for me to do better, I need to do it differently and to do it differently, I cannot start from the same assumptions. We need to refine our convictions, to think differently, do things differently and have better results.
What are the common concepts about entrepreneurship that are demystified in your book?
The main one is the myth that anyone who sets up on their own is, in fact, an entrepreneur. The way I see things, a true entrepreneur is a visionary strategist who lives preparing the company’s future. Most entrepreneurs are operators, who are concerned with the daily activities of their company. But this idea is not even original. Since the 1980s this challenge was identified by Michael E. Gerber, I have only been refining what I believe to be the solution over the last 30 years.
How do you enable entrepreneurs to intellectualize their approaches to increase leverage and promote exponential growth?
Challenging them, questioning them, educating and training them! And for this I use several tools. My books are part of this battery, as well as the countless hours of content published on social media, our courses , events and, I believe most importantly of all, our team of consultants who, on a daily basis, already support hundreds of entrepreneurs, all over the world.
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