Are you spending time working on “stuff” that is not accumulating into the results you want? Are you overwhelmed by options? Do you find it difficult to prioritise? Are you getting out there and meeting people but not getting results?
If so, you must feel like you’re running around like a headless chicken!
As a Business Owner your time resource is finite and you will inevitably face ongoing dilemmas when it comes to working out what to focus your efforts on. For example, when it comes to ‘Business Development’ do you:
A) Spend time really clarifying your vision, creating a business, marketing and communications plan and mapping out clearly how you’re going to make it happen? Which, of course, you recognize are important activites but for the most part are time consuming and can be a real challenge to actually do.
OR do you
B) Jump into the “doing” and crack on with the business development activity because you need the revenue coming into the business ASAP?
In our experience many business owners jump into the second scenario, but of course, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that both sets of activities are important. You need to do the first stage to make sure all your business development is joined up and effective, otherwise your business development activity will not get you the sales you want.
However, knowing that doesn’t mean it’s easy to do them both. For starters, some personality types will be more comfortable with the visioning while others will be more comfortable with planning and many are more comfortable with the doing. Secondly, knowing you have to do it ALL can lead to feeling overwhelmed which leads to the bits you don’t enjoy just getting left.
We have clients that have been running businesses for 5 years plus who have found themselves stuck in the “doing”, looking for the next piece of business, delivering to client needs etc. (all important of course) but not achieving the long term business growth they wish for.
If this is the case for you, you really need to get your “ducks in a row”!
That means you absolutely have to clarify your vision and goals in the long, medium and short term, have a plan for your business (any is better than none) and put together a marketing and communications plan (again, any is better than none). You need to have project and action plans (and ensure your team has them) to drive your overall plans into weekly and daily activity to stay on track! Then review, review, review.
Now no one said this is easy but if you don’t you will find that you can be “doing” for the sake of doing, procrastinating, getting minimal results, not seeing an accumulation of your efforts, or simply not knowing what to do next.
When you have all your “ducks in a row” you will be “on purpose”, meaning everything you do will have a point to it in relation to what you are striving for. So you will be fully engaged, motivated, energised, focused, committed and inspired to transfer your vision of success into reality…
Of course this is a challenge in itself but it is absolutely possible to get the right balance between working out what you need to be doing and doing it, if you make a commitment to do so.
Do you recognise that you MUST get all of your ducks in a row in this way as it is only through doing the RIGHT things consistently over time that you will grow your business and change your personal and business life for the better? And that you cannot know what the right things are to do if you haven’t been through this sort of planning process to some degree?
If so, what are you going to do about it??? And when?
Has this resonated with you? Has it triggered your thinking? If so, why not book in to one of our next “How to drive your business to the next level” Masterclasses CLICK HERE to find out more.
