We often use the road trip family of metaphors when discussing business ownership.
Owning a business is indeed like driving down the highway. One needs enough fuel; a good map; a clear windshield and readable dashboard. Your mirrors shouldn’t distort where you’ve been or who's on your tail. Driving down the highway demands you travel at a certain speed.
Regarding businesses that need to make significant changes, we talk about changing tires as we drive down the road. That’s a neat trick that we're sure Richard Petty would love to have figured out in his day. Unfortunately, there are no time outs or pit stops in business ownership.
No traffic lights on the highway.
On the topic of planning, we fall back to our guard rails analogies. Placing the right boundaries on the right road is critical to sound decision making. Knowing when to adjust the guard rails is the most important skill. THE most important.
Another theme has involved a relatively tiny piece of plastic: the accelerator. Said differently, how do we control the pace of things and the speed of productive growth? How do we increase traffic and quality leads and profitable revenue?
Before we go on, a little disclosure:
We have found that there are many perils on the road.
As a pedestrian:
We have been bull-rushed by a vehicle and flipped by another. Yes. Hit. Twice.
As a cyclist:
We have cushioned the blow as our broken bike front-tucked – it and us - and fell into oncoming traffic.
We’ve studied gravity intimately just off mountain bike trail cliffs.
As a driver:
We’ve been rear-ended and…
…been pinballs between tractor trailers.
We’ve gone airborne,
And We’ve danced on black ice. Many times.
They say we teach best that which we most need to learn.
We're still alive and we have most of our teeth. No broken bones. Ever.
So, naturally, we've taught our kids to drive.
As we told our kids, the key is focus. More specifically focus on your purpose.
We must act deliberately in the moment while focusing our thoughts on EXACTLY where we are headed. And why.
We must be able to confidently control our speed even as we manage twists and turns. We must be able to weather surprises while we keep moving forward. Driven by “why.”
We are more in control than we sometimes believe. We can increase sales and yes, we can handle that increase and deliver increased profits.
Do you believe in your accelerator?
What can you do today - without a ton of money and without a legion of salespeople – to DRIVE your business?
Engaging the accelerator requires clarity, confidence and consistency.
- Articulate your values
- State your purpose.
- Set your goals.
- Establish your priorities.
- Become your plan.
Execute without hesitation, checking your speed while staying in your lane.
Become your plan.
Seriously,
- Articulate your values
- State your purpose.
- Set your goals.
- Establish your priorities.
- Become your plan.
Execute without hesitation, checking your speed while staying in your lane.
Become your plan.
That’s the secret. A focus on your purpose creates connections. Connections drive profits.
When we remain disconnected from what we've purposed to do, our speed fluctuates; our results are nearly always unexpected; our anxiety runs higher. Bumps and bruises are inevitable when we allow ourselves to be distracted from what we believe our purpose is. Said differently, a disembodied plan is about as controllable as Forrest Gump’s feather. Or his boat.
Did you ever have a dream where you suddenly found yourself flying in a plane without a pilot or racing in a car without a driver?
Is that how your business sometimes feels to you?
Let’s focus on exactly where we are headed.
Believe in your purpose. Become your plan.
…and let’s be careful out there.
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