Sustaining the Forbes 400 Wealthiest List

Why Entrepreneurs Don't Stay at the Top

One of my new favorite shows to watch is CNBC's High Net Worth. Last week they did an interview with Maria Elena Lagomasino, an asset manager, who shared her insights into why entrepreneur's don't stay wealthy.

A study was conducted on the Forbes 400 Wealthiest people List. In 2006, only 13% of the people on the 1982 list remained. Why? Here is what Maria's take on it is.

She calls it the "success paradox." The attributes that help you create massive wealth are not the same attributes you need to sustain it.

For instance, what you need to create wealth is:

• Great ideas
• Lots of energy
• Focused concentration
• Very "directive" management
• Big risk taking

Unfortunately, these attributes will eventually position you to "implode" and lose what you gain. Maria suggests that once you create wealth, you need to switch strategies and enter a different mode that includes:

• Diversification (vs. singular focus)
• Risk Management (vs. risk taking)
• Delegation to Proper Support Teams (vs. being overly involved)
• More Collaborative/Consensus management (vs. more directive)
• A vision of your life style (vs. focus on just creating $$)

This insight is quite powerful for those entrepreneurs that experience the "yo-yo" success syndrome. How could you apply this to other areas of your success? Feel free to post your thoughts.