My wish for you is that every one of you is READY FOR ANYTHING – with the financial resources to make decisions calmly, the ability to pivot with confidence and avoid panic-driven pitfalls as you learn to build readiness and resilience in your business.
When I was growing up, I worked in our family construction business. As an adult, I started my career in sales, then became a therapist. I’ve helped found 3 companies. One of those companies sold to a Fortune 1000.
I’ve worked IN business and I’ve worked ON business. In order to be READY FOR ANYTHING, you have to do both, and more.
That is THE KEY to success – working ON your business, and ON yourself.
Have you ever heard the story about the 3 stone masons? It’s a story of differing perspectives. In our world today, we need to develop the practices of listen to understand, expand self-awareness and embrace the opportunities that come through change. Our businesses benefit from this kind of shift in personal perspective.
Long ago a traveler came upon a building site. He saw 3 men, each holding a stone in one hand and trowel in the other. The Traveler asked, “What’s happening here?” as he looked at the first mason. The first mason answered, “I’m preparing this stone.” The Traveler then looked to the second mason who answered, “I’m laying a foundation”. The Traveler then looked to the third mason who swept his arms wide and shouted, “I’m building a cathedral!”
As business owners, we have to work in our business. We also need to work on our businesses. I believe that we also have a responsibility to work on ourselves as well as the vision for the business.
We need to pay attention to the individual parts of our businesses – just like that first stone mason. We need to create systems and processes that contribute to our business foundation. We also need to hold space for the possibilities of what our businesses can become through our own growth and development.
The 3 tools we will cover today allow you to be READY FOR ANYTHING – with these tools you can carefully place each stone in building your biz, laying a strong foundation, that will allow you to grow your biz in a way that can withstand the tests and trials of time.
One of my earliest biz lessons came through my Dad’s construction company. It taught me that all it takes to destroy everything you’ve worked for is one really bad decision, mixed with an absence of a solid process.
In 1979 Conway Construction was building the largest, most expensive house it had ever built. My Dad had found this client through a referral – a friend of a friend. The client did a walk through one day and asked for some expensive changes, agreed to the increased costs. My Dad and the client shook on it and Daddy dove into the changes. You know where this is going, right?
At the end, the guy refused to pay.
1 decision
1 handshake
1 missing signature from a change order…. All misplaced stones.
Those were misplaced stones, built on a foundation that wasn’t solid. My Dad didn’t know what he didn’t know.
He loved working in the biz building things. He wasn’t one to work ON the biz– or on himself as an owner for that matter. He didn’t take the time to set up a good foundation of systems and processes.
Those misplaced stones and that faulty foundation cost my family everything – our home, that biz, our family.
I don’t want that to happen to any of you.
Today, I’m going to point you to 3 tools that the big companies use to navigate every crisis better, and there’s no reason you can’t use the same tools as they do:
- Your Emergency Recovery Fund – this will keep you working in the biz
- Establish a fund to float your business without revenue for 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months
- Keep this separate from your personal finances
- A Pivot & Pitfalls Analysis – to keep you working on the big picture
- Create a framework for vetting potential opportunities
- Map out the potential pitfalls in the landscape
- Frame your decision-making and problem solving
- Commit to constant review, revisions, and tests of the framework
- MARRY – working through a process so that you, and your business, will be READY FOR ANYTHING.
- Use a growth mindset
- Expand your self-awareness
- Adopt an attitude of readiness
- Build resilience every day
With an Emergency Recovery Fund, a Pivot & Pitfalls Analysis, and MARR-Y you can go into each situation able to see the work that needs to be done IN the biz and ON yourself and the biz while you work through the crisis.
As a business coach, I’m equipping you with 3 tools to get you the resources you need to act quickly and decisively. You don’t have to lose your home, family, or business when the unexpected disaster happens, because you’ll be READY FOR ANYTHING with these 3 tools.
