The Business Goes On

The business goes on whether I am there or not. Recently, I took several weeks holiday. It was great to return to my work to find that lots of things had changed in a positive sense. People were launching into new areas of product development and providing services. They were building new systems and processes and had picked up new lucrative contracts.

A couple of people had left and moved on to bigger and better things, and some new people had started, and there were some problems that had been well handled. This all served to remind me that life goes on - as does your business.

When you have the confidence in your people and have developed the structures and systems that support their activities, it is somewhat gratifying to realize that you can take a break, secure in the knowledge that your business is in good hands.

Leadership and Management are Verbs

In thinking and writing about business, I am more and more coming to the conclusion that management and leadership are verbs, rather than nouns. They are not about us as individuals, and our positions of power and authority, but rather they are dynamic functions.

These “doing words,” as one of my English teachers used to say in describing verbs, allow for the distribution of decision making and feedback that get things done and in so doing, serve the best interests of the business as a whole.

These functions then become everyone’s business, within the parameters of their particular areas of work, in serving the needs of customers.

Only 4% of All the Information You Receive is Relevant

There is so much information coming at you all the time when you are in business. I have discovered though through years of experience and practice that much of what passes for information is irrelevant and a waste of time and effort. In business, you need to focus on the really important information that enables you to achieve the very common practical tasks that need to get done. I have discovered that only 4% of what is called “information” in my business is pertinent for achieving excellence. That means that 96% of all the specialized knowledge coming at me can be ignored. Sorting out which 4% is the key to high performance. Fortunately, I’ve figured how to do that as well. I’ve had to.

The Signs of Change Come from Outside Your Own Business

Listening to the social changes that are occurring in the lives of the people around me holds the key to being innovative in my own business. The changes in the way I conduct my business, I have noticed, come not so much from what is going on inside of it, but through those insights and practices of people outside of it. They are coming from completely different areas of life, experience and expertise, and therefore offering fresh perspectives. Being able to make effective and responsible decisions relies on my having my ear close to the ground and listening out for these signs of change in the world at large.

The Power of Critical Thinking

In business today more than ever, you need to have people working around you who really make you think critically about what you are trying to achieve. People who ask the hard question and who make your brain hurt are a real find and a rare gift.

Training yourself to think deeply is the discipline that can unleash new energy and ideas that are powerful, invigorating and that sustain your action. Such activities are enlivening.

Everyone these days seems to be looking for the quick fix and the magical short cut. There are none. Don’t let yourself off the hook by settling for less.

It is only by reading extensively, engaging in dialogue and healthy debate with others and conversing at depth that we solve problems that exist and build depth within ourselves that informs purposeful action in the world of our business and in our lives.

Doing the Things that Need to be Done!

There are some tasks in my work that I do not like doing. I naturally like ideas and generating new products and services. I love learning. I read voraciously, and I am always thinking about the ideas that I am reading about or hearing in my conversations with others and how they can be applied.

That’s all well and good, but what about the things I am not so good at or that I find a struggle to get excited about or that are even drudgery for me personally?

In business, you have to manage these areas well and get your head around them. They are often the critically important areas that we need to pay special attention to. I will never be the world’s best accountant, but it is critical that I know the financial state of my business.

I will never be the world’s greatest IT technician, but it is critical for me to know what the best IT solution is for my business. Obviously, we have people around us who are experts in these areas of our work, but it is incumbent on me to not allow myself to become complacent and shift the burden of responsibility to someone else. It’s my name on the door.

As a business owner, I need to make sure that I pay attention to the things that need to be done and that I do not take my eye off the ball.

The Development of Conscious Awareness

In business, I am constantly being reminded of the high standards that I aspire to by the gap that often exists between the rhetoric and the actual level of goods and services that are on offer.

Businesses that claim to provide excellent services have to be aware that those services are always being compared to their customers’ standards. Many businesses claim to listen to their customers and provide them with what they want.

Being more aware of what those people who are not yet customers of yours are looking for is critical in being more self-aware about the products and services that you have on offer.

Consider listening to those people who are not yet your customers, people around you that you encounter everyday. What are they talking about? What are they complaining about? What do they want?

By listening to their words and absorbing their life experience, we can develop our self-awareness and become a little more circumspect by understanding that standards may vary.

Business Success

In business, it is critical to be in partnership and working with the right people. People who pursue excellence in everything they do are the hallmarks of great business partners. They deliver results and pay attention by listening and speaking out of a genuine spirit of openness and honesty.

Creating a business environment in which everyone shares the same values, where everyone is always learning and there is no game playing or politics provides for innovation, excitement and high productivity.

Even when we face difficult times, knowing that we have people around us who are committed and dedicated to the vision of a transformed business makes a huge difference in terms of personal freedom and safety.

Here’s to building high performing, life-affirming business cultures.