Have you ever found yourself feeling like you just need a break? Does it constantly feel like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done?
I’ve been there. It’s not a peaceful place.
I’ve also experienced great peace while juggling 20 different things.
In the beginning, you probably took time to outline business goals and a plan. How are you doing on that? How often to you take time really contemplate what you need to do more or do less?
Before GPS driven auto-pilots, mariners would take navigational readings several times a day to determine if they were on course. It’s about 3000 miles from London to Boston. If a ship leaving either port were off by even a couple of degrees at the start, it would miss its destination by over 100 miles! Because these mariners knew they could not control the winds or ocean currents, they knew they had to determine where they were frequently or risk missing their destination or, even worse, being lost at sea.
If you are inclined as I am to lead by example, it is very easy to spend so much time in your business that you have no time to spend on your business. It is very easy to just blame it on trying to be a shrewd leader and keep labor costs low. However, you are doing yourself, your employees, and your customers a huge dis-service if you are not regularly and intentionally taking time to reflect upon the state of your business.
Without this time to back off the day-to-day and look at your business from a higher altitude, it is easy to lose perspective and focus. Most businesses do not fail in a single glorious moment. They fail slowly, through a series of poor choices due to lack of focus and knowledge.
By scheduling time to spend on your business, you give yourself the opportunity to re-evaluate your goals, the marketplace, and what you need to do to stay on course.
A collection of thoughts and musings 