About guard rails – postcards from the web:
- “A system designed to keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas”
- “No one pays attention until someone hits one….”
- “Our galvanized steel highway guard rails can be customized to enhance the safety of any road…”
- “Guard rails, help protect both personnel and property…..”
- “Everyone today seems to know someone who couldn’t handle the turns and went over the side of the mountain…”
On childhood road trips, we remember being drawn from the relative safety of the highway. The guard rails seemed both necessary and safe where they were placed. But they obstructed the view. They brought about an odd sense of claustrophobia.
What lay beyond the guard rails?
How far could we see from the other side?
How far down could we safely climb?
Of course, on walks, runs or bike rides, we went over the edge much more than once. Pure exhilaration accompanied the first few steps.
Every time.
While we eventually found answers and made new discoveries, there were always those moments when raw fear cut off all peripheral senses. Are we safe? Will anyone ever find us? Will THAT ever stop bleeding? What was the plan? How long will it take to return?
But these moments were just part of the journey. The feeling of relief that accompanied stepping back over the guard rail - returning to safety – was never enough to wipe away new lessons and a desire to learn more. Driving and hiking “off the beaten path” has become about continuing to challenge assumptions about limits and pathways. Affirmation of our own personal moral absolutes have actually freed us to accelerate this professional exploration.
So what?
Of course we could never know that this all foreshadowed the business owner life.
Metacognition – thinking about how we think - is one of those cool words that is actually useful.
Why do business owners make the choices they make? The purpose of the question is not to cause owners to either doubt or validate their talents or skills. The purpose is to identify the kind of change that’s possible.
Business guard rails can provide a framework for decision making. Properly installed guard rails are critical to excellence. Operating without them is foolish. But who installs them and what are their goals?
- How fast can you safely grow? How fast must you grow?
- What is your capacity for new lines of business?
- What are your most critical priorities? Why? Again, why?
- Who is carrying your marketing message? Are they each accurate and consistent? How often are customers/clients/patients confused by your messaging?
- What promises are you making? How well are you keeping them?
- Would you like more time?
Is your daily thinking too narrow? Are your strategic limits absent?
Are you aware of where your guard rails are?
If so, have you placed them properly?
Pushing beyond existing guard rails is a must. The primary goal should be to more properly place them. But it requires careful planning and a worthy vision.
What does that mean?
Why are you on the road you’re on? Where do you expect it to take you? Would you like to get there faster? What would you do once reaching that goal? What if you never got there?
Understanding your answers to these questions – thinking about how you think about this stuff – will allow you to safely shift your guard rails so they protect you along the road you really want to travel.
Let’s talk more about this.
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