Embracing the Gold
What "gold" is there in the recessionary circumstances your business, and you personally, have suffered through? The answer is different for each individual and business depending upon how your market has been impacted. Generally, however, the "gold" is rather abundant. Take a look:
Increased Market Share
Unfortunately, some businesses have failed as a result of the recession's economic fall-out. This misfortune of others, however, is "gold" for those who remain. Fewer players in the market brings with it an opportunity for you to increase your market share! Now remember, increasing your market share can't be done with your head in the sand waiting for the economy to get better. You've got to be a visionary leader, standing on the bluff, watching for what's next, and planning your moves!
Systems Building
More often than not, we do what we do the same ole way, even if that way of doing things is outdated and no longer serves our business' best interest. This rut, however, leads to wheel spinning, mud splattering messes! Instead, take this opportunity to evaluate what systems you could put in place NOW in order to better serve you, your team, and your customers in the future. What better time to create a more efficient financial tracking system to stay on top of cash flow issues… before they become an issue or to fix breakdowns you already have? What better time than now to build a system of communication, delegation, accountability, and project management that works for you and your business?Clarify the chain of command and the job descriptions for each position within your company. Define how information is to flow between the office and the field. Create a system that keeps the financial status of your company current and well managed! Take the time now to build your systems, debug your systems, find out where the flaws in your systems are, and tweak your systems as needed, until you no kidding have in place systems that will allow you to easily manage your business!The point is that now is the time to build whatever systems you need to succeed in what’s coming next. Build your systems NOW, and then plug only those people who are best qualified into the systems you create!
Team Building
A slowdown in the market is the best time to build your team; a team that fits with your company culture and is truly made up of the best individuals for the jobs, given their job descriptions and the company’s current and future needs. Think about it: Unfortunately there are many talented and skilled people who are now out of jobs. A slowdown in the market is your opportunity to pick the cream of the crop and put them to work for you!You’ve got to mold and build a team that works for you and teach what you know inside of the systems you create, and the vision you see for your business. Yes, it means that you may even have to replace some of your less qualified team members and those who don’t fit in with what you are doing, where you are going, and the way you are getting there. It also means that you have to take the time to teach. Yet, it must be done if you are going to not only survive the “now” but put yourself and your business in a position to pounce on what’s next!
Putting Your "Gold" to Work for You
Once you've identified the "gold" in your individual circumstances, the question then becomes, "How do I put the things I've learned to work for me and my business… what's next?"Getting to what's next inside of your business' recovery is all about you, as the leader, getting present to where you've been, where you are going, and methodically creating a plan for how you are going to get from Point A to Point B, bearing in mind the golden opportunities you have available to you. You do this by:
- Taking a serious look at what in your business works and what doesn’t; what helps you get what you want and what gets in your way; what you can or are willing to change and what you can’t. The only way you can create the business you want (even in less than ideal market conditions) is to deal with whatever is in your way – an employee that isn’t working, cash flow issues, poor employee morale, poor work/life balance, absenteeism, lax accountability, etc. Ignoring the challenges you face only give those issues more time to grow deeper roots, making them that much more difficult to rid your business of and creating problems even in the best of market conditions!
- Creating a written plan for making the changes you want and need to make, based upon what you've learned works and doesn't work for you, your business, and your team! Start by creating written business and marketing plans (or re-evaluating the plans you already have). By methodically working through your business and marketing plans you will gain even greater clarity around your greatest strengths, your weaknesses, the tools and team you have at your disposal, and how to put those tools to work for you. Written plans are necessary because operating our lives out of the mental lists we keep in our heads is what generally gets us into trouble. Our minds are incredible make-it-up machines, and frequently the assumptions we make up about the world around us gets in the way of our staying on course. Now, when we are talking about setting a positive course toward what's next for your business, do you really want your make-it-up machine head in the driver seat? Not really! However, we do need the creativity and positive energy our brains are capable of providing us. So the answer is to put our brains’ creative powers into generating written plans that gets us from where we are now to where we say we want to be! Our plans then serve as roadmaps that keep us on track when our brains begin to spin out and become overwhelmed by the real circumstances affecting our businesses.
- Asking for help and accountability. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten so good at fooling ourselves and "waiting things out" that we’re often lost far before we realize (or are willing to admit) we are! You know, it is much like refusing to stop for directions when you’ve been driving aimlessly for miles! For this reason, we need people around us, people we trust, whom we allow and are willing to step in when we get off track, and hold us accountable for being who we say we are going to be and for sticking to our plan.
- Committing to being unstoppable. Commit to not just being in survival, but being the leader of the turnaround! Choosing to take on being positive and directed in a negative and aimless world doesn’t mean that the road will always be smooth. Stops, those circumstances that spin us out and cause us to question, “What am I going to do now?!”, will come up along the way, unexpected circumstances will arise, and we human beings are susceptible to each and every one of them! However, the difference between those who work-hard spinning their wheels, but getting absolutely nowhere and those who work-hard and move forward in a committed direction are those who remain present to who they are and what they are committed to; are able to forgive themselves when they aren’t being outrageous and unstoppable, and get restarted. They choose to be positive in a negative world and they never ever give up!
You have a choice… complain or create!
Each and every one of us has a choice in how we manage our businesses and our lives. We can complain about the attitudes of the people on our team. We can complain about market conditions and a negative cash flow and choose to bury our heads in the sand. We can complain as we wait the market out. Yet, why wait for anything when you can create where you want to go… what you want to achieve… have a written plan that keeps you focused and directed, and be in unstoppable action.Don't ever forget that you are the only person who has a say in how your life and your business turns out! You can choose to complain about negative circumstances and let them stop you or you can create a way around them or through them. The choice is yours, and if you choose to be unstoppable, just remember that there are some days or circumstances when even wearing a smile while you work your plan will be enough to swing the pendulum your way. So, don’t forget to get rid of negative thinking – throw it away, smile while you do what you do, appreciate the fact that you are here to enjoy another day, build your team, work your plan, and choose to look for the gold in absolutely every situation you encounter. There is a golden nugget of opportunity and/or learning to be found in each and every circumstance. I guarantee it!Warm Regards,