Awareness

What are you focusing on?

The #1 Law of Entrepreneurship states that “opportunity will always exceed resource”.

Just ask anyone in the middle of a ‘start up’ and they’ll tell you that their greatest frustration is in not being able to bring more resource (time, $$, people, energy, expertise) to the table to execute on their idea.

The same goes for established businesses wanting to drive innovation and business development. 

Fact is I’ve never met anyone yet – start up or established – who has claimed they have all the resource they need!

So here’s the trick. It is all about building momentum – and momentum is all about directing your attention (resources) on a few key things that will get your boat moving in the right direction and in the right sequence.

Organisations tend to grow in the direction they focus their attention and that is always at its most powerful when the whole crew is paddling in the same direction.

You may well want to diversify your offer, reduce costs, improve customer service, innovate service delivery, de-risk, rationalise and standardise, simplify the business, increase margins, outsource, drive revenue growth (these are just some of the more common things on a business owner’s wish list) – but the fact is you can’t achieve focus by trying to be all things to all people all at the same time.

It is far better to do one or two things really (really) well, because where your attention goes the energy flows and the results show.

Try this simple little test. Stop what you are doing right now, get your Team together and ask them individually what is their current major ‘focus’. You’ll soon know whether you are all paddling in the same direction with focus, purpose and clarity.

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Action, Refelection

Lessons and Insights from the year that was: 2019

For the 3Y0 crew 2019 was a thoroughly fascinating and rewarding year.  Like everyone else we had to get our heads around the fact that 2019 was a year that once again rebased many businesses (how many on the trot is that now?)

Globally and locally it was a year of big winners and big losers.  Equally valuable lessons came from both sides of the ledger for those who were willing to embrace both winning and losing as true learning experiences.

Fact is two things made a real difference:

First, The decisions you made (or didn't make) and 
Second, the actions you took (or didn't take) 

Despite the hype, despite the stories, despite the numbers, despite the currency, the capital markets and the banks, despite consumer confidence surveys, commodity prices and technology trends – for most in business the year came down to just two things. 

Too simple?  Not really.

Success belongs to those who respond quickly, adapt to an ever changing playing field, make big decisions early, access and leverage the ideas, talent and resource they need to execute.  And most importantly then followed through despite the noise and distraction going on around them.

We observed plenty of local businesses struggling in a flat market.  Sure, the economy and general trading environment didn’t help but at the risk of upsetting a few people our observation is that most of the struggle came from within.

Why the struggle?  Well, speaking from my own personal experience – most struggle comes from our not being fully awake and 'present' for the full experience of the moment.

In other words, if someone is spending more time pondering why things should be different – than focusing on what is, then they will surely be deep in struggle.  Brian Tracy has a lovely saying, “deal with things as they are, not as you’d like them to be.”

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