Build A Better Box

Years ago, I was working with the head of a financial planning company who was also an excellent motivational speaker. His speeches included several memorable aphorisms and parables, among my favorites being along the lines of, "Don't be someone who life merely happens to. Be someone who makes life happen for themselves." In his speaking, he encouraged people to be proactive and not simply reactive. Make financial decisions that set us up for a life of well-prepared planning and sound strategy. And even if occasionally found behind the 8 ball, we can reverse the mindset that causes many of us to feel controlled and not in control.

In business, many of us tend to react to situations at hand with a greater deal of disorganization or forethought when pressed to make decisions under duress.  Emotions come into play to a far greater extent. Our hearts can take over when our heads don't have enough time to make the best decisions. To have a mentality that predicates on a basis of control is to reduce emotional influence, and to make our plans more largely based on logic and prepared tactics.

Ever played a game of chess and felt as though every move was simply a defensive one - a bid to stay alive and merely survive another turn? To minimize casualties and sustain as little damage for as long as possible? Perhaps sacrificing a pawn or two if it means sparing a knight? And the feeling of never being able to get ahead, since all of ones turns are exercised simply to keep afloat?  And what of the other player, who seems in complete charge of the game, sacrificing few - if any - key pieces, making moves with calculated, seemingly effortless flow? This "upper hand" was the result of setting up a strategy that afforded offensive moves with far less need for the defensive, reactionary tactics employed by the lesser-planned player. At the outset of the game, both players started on even ground. Yet after a handful of turns, how does one player fall prey to the other? Is it a matter of not knowing the rules? Not understanding the play of the game? Of course not; the rules are simple. It came down to planned strategy and understanding control.

When we win a new client, was it a stroke of luck? A wistful happenstance? Not so much; it was a result of the control we had over everything that went into winning the heart and mind of the client, from demonstrating our ability to deliver the services and products the client needs, to the promise of value or pricing, to our confidence in our relationships with them. And what of losing a client? How much can be blamed that was truly outside our control, with absolutely no way around an obstacle? How willing might we be to bend and flex, in an effort to maintain something otherwise lost? It is the limitless range of possibilities we possess to adapt, change, and grow that puts us in full control of far greater things than we often give ourselves credit for. 

In summary, as is a common theme in this blog, it can't be stressed enough the importance of a few things:

1. Have a plan! Don't go into anything improvised. It's true we often need to think on our feet and make some fast, intuitive decisions from time to time.  But unlike the fresh, often exhilarating approach to spontaneity we might enjoy in our personal lives, our businesses require forethought and calculated strategies to exist healthily.

2. Stay ahead of the game. Always being prepared for the next several moves, so to speak, will keep us from finding ourselves in a purely reactionary state. Whether it be having enough money in the company coffers to withstand a brief downturn, having the staff and advance resources available to adequately handle new work that comes along quickly and efficiently, or simply having the time available to devote to a crisis that may arise - all these things represent being stabilized, and allow us to act more logically and rationally.

3. Remember: you are in the driver's seat. Will we come in first every race? Not necessarily; but the important part is to understand we achieved each advance position in the circuit based on exercising control over our circumstances and the other drivers on the field. And never take your eye off the rear view mirror by becoming too focused on the road ahead. Every driver behind you wants to be in front as much as you do and will use their own control to achieve this.

Every minute of our day is another move on the chess board. Will we make our moves reactively and defensively, or proactively and on top of the game? Keep in mind the above three things, and you'll live a life of greater control.  And our businesses and personal lives will thrive for it.