Navigating the Potholes On Your Road to Success Hot
One of the results of the changing and sometimes harsh winter weather conditions is that a large number of potholes develop on the roadways. Often, many of these potholes develop in a particular location or stretch of road. Sometimes the potholes are extremely wide or run pretty deep. No matter the number or size, they always make for a potentially slower and more costly journey to your ultimate destination.
When we know there may be potholes on our journey, we have to be aware that the path will have some extra bumps and alter our way of driving. We need to drive looking not only at what is coming further down the road, but also what is right in front of us on the road to successfully reach our destination without damaging our vehicle. If we don’t pay attention to the road directly in front of us, we will continually hit the potholes. Over time, the constant pounding on our vehicle will result in costly repairs and time spent in the shop. When our vehicle needs repairs, we won’t be reaching any destination!
Additionally, if we drive in a hurry, only thinking of our future destination and not paying attention to what is right in front of us, we will hit the potholes. Similarly, if you are distracted while driving, we won’t see the potholes right in front of us.
Usually the roads are fixed fairly quickly. Sometimes the potholes on the roads are “patched” as a quick fix. However, the patches rarely last and the same holes develop in the same location the following winter. They reappear if not correctly repaired.
Watching drivers approach a section of road with numerous potholes at an intersection near my home, it is apparent that many drivers are oblivious to the dangers right in front of them!
Similarly, the potholes on our business journey are those issues that pop up and catch us by surprise or things that bog us down in terms of time and/or resources. Sometimes they pop up at certain times of the year or groups of them occur at the same time. What “potholes” are you continuously running into on your journey to success?
When thinking of strategic planning and running our firms, we oftentimes focus on the distant future and forget to look at what is right before us, the tasks and projects needed to be focused on to solve current issues. These current issues need to be resolved for us to reach our intended future destination. Additionally, the day-to-day tasks that have to be done just to tread water often take our attention and energy away from the important tasks and projects that need to be done to solve issues that ultimately move our firms ahead. We often don’t notice the potholes on our journey.
Successful companies confront and fix their most pressing issues and don’t let them linger for weeks, months or years at a time. If the potholes are fixed correctly right away, we don’t need to think about running into them.
What oftentimes takes the energy out of a business is not that there is too much work to handle, but rather that the business has too many issues that need to be resolved. Each unresolved issue ends up sucking up time and energy and holds the business back from moving ahead. Fixing our issues will free up time and energy to focus on more productive tasks and projects.
Are you aware of the potential potholes in your business that are right in front of you? Don’t be in too much of a hurry or get distracted, and most importantly, pay attention to the important issues and challenges right in front of you to reach your business destination. Fix the potholes in your business as they appear.
Build your business wisely.
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