One of the hardest parts about starting a business, I’ve learned over this past year, is balancing the mundane with the mission.
The mission, of course, is being successful. To achieve this, we’re engaging in planning sessions for 2010, setting strategies and mapping milestones. Our goal for 2010: becoming wildly profitable.
Unfortunately, most small businesses don’t do this. It’s difficult to keep your eyes on the horizon because the items on your desk need attention too. Each one is a distraction to the other, but each is necessary. Admittedly, sometimes I get bogged down in my little to-do list. All of those items are important, relevant, and need their space and my time. And if I don’t focus on them, the whole never makes it into existence.
But we do set aside time for strategy twice a week. My partner Bob and I will frequently have conversations over lunch, but it’s something I need to put on my calendar, so I’m committed to it.
Even more difficult for small businesses, however, is the concept of flexibility. They frequently need to shift their strategy, tweak their tactics, and then communicate that to the rest of the staff. As situations evolve differently than we anticipated, we then face the question: what now?
If we ignore reality, we may suffer financially. If we incorporate the new reality into our tactics poorly, the business becomes a mish-mash with no real purpose. Such situations must be addressed.
But that’s the way life occurs in its natural habitat. It never goes as expected. There are unimaginable variables. Real leaders — which we’re learning to become — have the ability to flex with what happens, keep moving, and maintain their eyes on the far horizon. When life goes a different way, alter the plan and keep on going.
