Angie McKaig - E-Business Consultant and Entrepreneur
how life taught me about business2008.10.07
The most valuable lessons I've ever learned in my life, I've learned in the past five years. Guess all those folks who talk about getting wiser as you get older might be on to something.
The greatest thing about these life lessons? They apply anywhere, baby. But I find they're particularly helpful in business:
1. If you lock your knees while standing on the subway, you'll be more likely to tip over. If you keep things loose and flexible, you'll be able to sway... and stand upright a lot longer.
Business application: be flexible. Rigid business models don't do anyone any favors. Particularly when times get rocky, the best way to weather the storm is to stay loose, be ready to shift with the changes, and you'll be able to stay upright a lot longer.
2. Take a deep breath. Now, take another. The worst pain comes from clenching your muscles in anticipation. If you breathe deeply and force your muscles to relax, your pain levels go down too.
Business application: Anticipating the worst and steeling yourself for it just causes pain. (Why, just take a look at the stock markets for a great example.) Take a deep breath, then another... and it will focus your mind, and your business, to not make rash decisions in these panicky times.
3. If you think about the nausea, if you focus on the nausea, then pretty soon all you'll be able to think about is the nausea... and you'll feel even more nauseated. Focus on your body - breathe, relax.
Business application: Focusing on the bad and panicky tends to make the bad and panicky worse. The best way to solve a problem is to think around it, not through it - focus on something else for a while, something that is positive and is an aspect of your business that is still successful, still functioning well (your employees, for example). Focusing on a positive will help the problem-solver in the back of your brain to come up with creative solutions for the problems at hand... without stressing you out as much.
I run a very business-to-business web site, and I'm in touch with dozens of companies daily. Given the fun gloom and doom being spewed forth by the media these past two weeks, I've definitely been seeing the panic on the wall. At times like this, though, I'm reminded of my favorite print ever: Keep Calm and Carry On.
Well said.
