Rolling With the Changes How To Help Your Business Survive and Thrive
During the last few weeks, I have watched the world a bit (probably too much). The stock market is up, and then it is down. Tariffs are up, and then they are down.
We are going to take Greenland. Well, maybe not. AI will control the world — unless of course the big tech giants bankrupt themselves in the process of creating and perfecting it. If there is one word to summarize the state of current affairs it is “volatile.” Chaos is a good, second choice.
So, what do you do when everything around you seems to be in constant, uncertain motion? How do you make plans when things seem to keep changing (and at an ever-increasing speed)?
As a planner, standing by and watching things move around me is not an option. I am one of those “schedule things nine months in advance and get everything to the accountant (all neatly filed by expense type) by mid-January” kind of guys. Navigating a business during tumultuous times can be a huge challenge, but it is also an incredible opportunity.
One of the recurring themes in my articles is not just planning but adapting. In this issue, I am writing about adaptability and how it can not only help our businesses survive but thrive. As Bette Davis said in All About Eve, "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night!"
Eve of Destruction
When times are unsettled, it is easy to let yourself get swept up in the chaos and lose sight of the goal. The fact that we now have a 10-minute news cycle (when I was a kid, it was a solid week) does not help matters.
Society’s priorities keep shifting and changing, and losing focus becomes the norm. We rush headlong from one thing to another and struggle to keep up.
So, stop. Just stop. Turn off all the external noise from time to time and let your mind clear out. It is impossible to assess the situation you might find yourself in, let alone make decisions that move your business forward, if you allow the noise to fill your head.
When I was a trial attorney, it was easy to get swept up in chaos. You have a client who is panicking and often lashing out or in a state of collapse. You have opposing counsel who is throwing roadblocks in your path that you must prepare for in advance and have a response for.
You have a witness who is getting squirrelly on the witness stand. You have a judge who decides whether you get to ask the question or even pursue a theory. You have a jury who is either watching intently or grabbing the occasional cat nap.
You have a court clerk who is moving around the room dealing with the 30 other cases that must be rescheduled off the record. And all of this is happening at the same time.
Just like in business, you cannot ignore the things going on around you. Learning how to take all the data, triage it to determine what is the most critical, and compartmentalize the rest so you can deal with it later is not just a trial skill; it is an important life skill.
You do this every day with family issues and other stressors. You start by focusing on what the goal is and asking yourself how you can get to that goal from where you are at.
Do not let non-essential things draw too much attention, as they will only cloud your ability to focus on the important thing. One great trick is to try thinking backward. We usually try to figure out how to reach our goal by thinking of the steps we must take, starting from where we are at. What if you start from your goal and walk backward?