Tag Archive for: Challenges

Remember the Scary Times?

Recently, I reread a book by Strategic Coach Co-Founder Dan Sullivan entitled the Scary Times Success Manual. The original version of this material was written for a group of entrepreneurs, following the 9/11 attacks. As Dan states in his book:

“As I was preparing for a special client event in New York City, I thought, ‘When something like this is happening, you have to forget about some things and focus intently on other things.’ I started writing and came up with a list of ten ‘forget about this, focus on that’ strategies, which turned into a four-page document that I called ‘The Scary Times Success Manual.’”

I thought it was so true that I wanted to share the ten points with you, because, interestingly, we seem to be in some scary times again with the advent of high interest rates, elevated inflation & falling commodity prices. The economics of business are changing, and we can either respond negatively or proactively to these challenges.

As Dan so accurately states: “While the shock and disruption of scary times can leave a lot of people feeling paralyzed to respond and act, entrepreneurs have some experience in dealing with scary times in their normal lives simply because they’ve chosen the entrepreneurial path and the challenges that come with it.”

Here are Dan’s 10 points:

·       “Forget About Yourself; Focus on Others” – When these scary times arrive, how can we help others? For example, what fears do your employees have & how can you assist them?

·       “Forget About Your Commodity; Focus on Your Relationships” – Stay in touch with your Vendors and Banker. You will definitely need them in the long term, so be sure to focus on the future and ask them what they think.

·       “Forget About the Sale; Focus on Creating Value” –  Motivation is key here, so be sure to key in on what you can offer to create additional value.

·       “Forget About Your Losses; Focus on Your Opportunities” – You must capture opportunities that arise by focusing on what is currently working and what might create more success in the future. What does the future hold and where can we grow & improve?

·       “Forget About Your Difficulties; Focus on Your Progress” – Treat this time period as one where you can make your biggest progress. Stay prepared, or you won’t be ready when your prices start to rise again. Instead, create a better you and as a result, better business outcomes.

·       “Forget About the Future; Focus on Today” – What can you do in the next 24 hours? Plan for positive results on everything. Send positive messages and always measure your outcomes, because if you measure something, you will understand it. If you understand it, you can better control it, and if you have more control, you can improve it.

·       “Forget About Who You Were; Focus on Who You Can Be” – Reinvent yourself and set bigger goals. Make the best use of technology to do so, especially with the advent of Ai.

·       “Forget About Events; Focus on Your Responses” – It is important to remember that we cannot always control the events that happen, but we most certainly can control our responses. When major events occur, a new normal will arrive, and you will be prepared for it.

·       “Forget About What’s Missing; Focus on What’s Available” – Recognize what changed. What areas do you need to clean up? Are there items you should simplify or change to set a new course for your business?

·       “Forget About Your Complaints; Focus on Your Gratitude” – Be grateful for what you do have and what you have been able to accomplish. Stay positive, because no one ever erected a statue for a pessimist!

I hope Dan’s 10 points help you as you move forward. Apply them as often as you can, and I believe your outcomes will be awesome!

 

“Don’t wait on perfect conditions for success to happen; just go ahead and do something.”

Dan Miller

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

 

Are You Waiting for the Easy Bus?

Recently, I was listening to a short speech by Kara Lawson, Head Coach for the Duke University women’s basketball team where she explained to her players that life can be challenging.

Yet, the best lesson that she shared was that it is always better to accept that life can be challenging and then move forward with a plan to make it better. Lawson describes this process as learning to “Handle Hard Better!” However, she points out that this requires a mental shift on our part. Instead of complaining, as a Client of mine did recently, about how the bank was being unreasonable, the feed company was becoming aggressive, and the IRS was being difficult, we need to make this mental shift to handling hard better.

Let’s face it. Life is full of challenges for all of us. If you could hear the noise just outside my office right now, you would realize how I know this first-hand. Our contractors were preparing to put the roofing material over our patio cover yesterday, but we received 4” of rain suddenly, and that did not work out too well for the tongue & groove boards underneath. So, they are currently replacing the warped boards. As a result, I am learning how to handle hard better.

Matthew McConaughey says, “Life is not easy.” He adds that “it never was, it isn’t today, and it never will be.” As a result, he recommends that we get over it & get on with it. This advice certainly aligns with Kara Lawson’s speech.

Finally, Coach Lawson cautions her players (& us) to not be “waiting for the easy bus.” She adds that when we stand around, doing nothing, just waiting for the easy bus to arrive, nothing good happens. In fact, unfortunately, the easy bus never comes. That is why we need to learn to “Handle Hard Better!” Let’s heed her advice this year and remember:

“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.”      Anonymous

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Have You Ever Seen This?

Of course, you have. We all have witnessed this scenario. The banker is unhappy with the “problems” at the farm site, and one of the partners looks at the others and says, “You got us into this mess. Now, you can get us out of it!”

As I saw in a recent YouTube video, it’s time to quit playing the “Blame Game!” Instead of acting like the U.S. auto industry of the 1960’s and 1970’s, where every problem was considered someone else’s fault, until the Japanese practically overtook the entire industry, let’s try another approach to turnaround situations.

While it’s always better to avoid banking & financial problems because no one enjoys them, we need a system to do so. In every one of my 73 financial turnarounds to date, at least one item needed to be improved. Usually, it centered around a “lack of communication” between the partners, owners, managers, vendors &/or bankers…

My recommendation? Instead of playing the “blame game,” why not do the following? Meet regularly and discuss your challenges. I’ve met with every one of my Clients each month for the past 23 years. Believe me, that’s a lot of meetings, but you know what? They have kept each other better informed, and, as a result, been in a position to make more informed decisions. Did we get every decision correct? Probably not, but just like in Major League Baseball, if your batting average is high enough, you will succeed and probably participate in the All-Star game!

When you meet, always, always, always have an agenda! Not a hidden one, but rather, one that keeps you all on focus throughout your discussions. Tangents are so easy to get caught up within, and they are never productive…

Focus on one item at a time, if possible, and find a solution. So often, we (and sometimes bankers, too…) want to solve five issues at once. However, this process will dilute your focus and delay your progress on any of these challenges.

My experience has been that, once I get the biggest problem solved and stick to the process, the others start to look less intimidating. My advice to you is this: As Author Brendon Burchard so often states: “Honor the Struggle.” I think you’ll be glad you did!

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!