BUSINESS UPSETS
Let it rain on your parade.
You get wet?? So what??
Rain. In life, it comes from the sky. In business? It can come from anywhere and everywhere, any time. It’s the “anywhere, everywhere, any time” part that gives most business owners ulcers, right?
At least when rain always comes from the sky, we can duck for cover, use umbrellas, pull up hoods, wear hats, and avoid getting our eyeballs pinged by looking up!
But have you noticed that whether it rains in real life, or it rains on your business parade, it never makes everybody happy all of the time? That of course exempts those of you who live in Seattle, San Francisco, Ireland, or one of those preserved rain forests where you simply go with the flow (no pun intended).
Anyway, there’s always either too much or
not enough… Or am I just imaging things?
We’re either in a terrible draught and can only wash the car on alternate weekdays, or we’re hiding under the covers, quivering with each cloudburst, and bemoaning the juiced-up local TV weather person’s bug-eyed flash flood warnings.
Oh, and we certainly know about how “hard” it can rain. We’ve known since kiddiedom that “When it rains, it pours!”… and Bob Dylan warned us that a “hard rain’s a gonna fall.”
People complain there’s not enough business,
or that there’s too much business.
Oh. . . such killer problems!
(You think I’m making this up?)
How do you handle too much or too little business raining on yourparade? Do you drown yourself, just wallow around in the muckity mud, or do a “Singing in the rain” routine as you tap dance around the nearest light stanchion?
How often do you ask yourself, “What’s the worst that could happen here?” Hopefully, that’s the leading question that pops into your rained-on brain just before every decision you make. Why? Because having a worst-case scenario in your mind provides a platform of reality for forward motion, and helps prevent surprise…which most entrepreneurs stopped liking when they turned six.
Here’s the deal: You got into your own business by hook or crook, or by accident or accidentally on purpose. Or maybe you slid sideways into it through some family rainstorm or annoying drizzle, or slam-bam downpour. But it’s yours.
Like the old Toyota theme: “You asked for it. You got it.” So, by now, dealing with upsets is probably daily routine.
Dealing with your SELF though, may not be.
So, stop and take stock. This weekend is as good as any to look hard in the mirror and size up what you see there that’s upsetting. Ferret out the rain, and make your mind up to see it for what it is: necessary, refreshing, and routine in many places. Yeah, and wet.
Next, decide how you can reverse your own gears to back out of whatever upsets come your way. (Combat is not always the best answer!) And consider contingency plans based on (you got it) worst case scenarios. “Be Prepared” caution the Boy Scouts.
Choose to look at every problem as an opportunity, and get on with it.
Too much rain sells more umbrellas, slickers, ponchos, foul-weather gear, waders, boots, sump pumps, waders, hair dryers and flood insurance. Not enough rain, sells more watering cans, mulch, faucet washers, flush-efficient toilets, rain-dance manuals and videos, and ice cubes (for exotic drinks to enjoy while draught-watching!).
What’s the opportunity in your latest problem?
302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US
[…] environments that lack this balance and awareness. And you can only maintain your own ability to go with the flow by staying focused on which ways the moving targets […]