It fair to say that most business owners spend a lot of time thinking about what the future will bring. We are always trying to predict what is going to happen next, where is the next challenge going to come from and when is the next wave of thriving going to come?
Then when we get into challenging times, we start to predict that it’s never going to end and when the good times come, we think we have turned the corner and expect it is smooth sailing from here.
So, what is the message here? Do we spend far too much time on trying to predict the future?
The reality is, no matter how much time you spend on predicting the future it won’t stop the millions of variables that could come your way. There is a great quote in business leadership and in any leadership for that matter, that states “focusing on the outcome is the enemy of productivity”. While you’re always looking ahead to see how this is going to turn out, it will distract you from what you need to be doing.
Let me throw out another quote while I’m on a roll… “control the controllable and don’t focus on what you can’t influence”
The prophetic words of one of the most gifted business management thinkers we have seen over the last 100 years – Peter Drucker stated “the only way to predict the future is to create it”
‘So how do you do that…’ I hear you say.
Don’t get me wrong you still need to have a vision and set goals of what you want to aim for. As the saying goes, if you don’t have a target how do you know if you are pointing in the right direction and more importantly how do you stay accountable or better yet, how do you know if your hitting or missing your target.
So, assuming you have clarity of your business direction and you have vision and goals. Then your processes, systems and strategies need to be narrowed down to what you can impact on a day to day, week to week basis that is in your total control.
Its these processes, systems and strategies that is leading you to your intended visions and goals. Remember that vision and goals are not a predictable achievement otherwise they would be a task to do in a project you’re working on.
Narrowing your focus onto what you can do in the next 30 days is your starting point. Get busy by implementing processes, systems and strategies you have full control of. Let the outcome evolve as a by-product of sticking to the systems and process you have proven to work previously. Be creative and innovate to keep improving.
The more time you spend on creating your future versus predicting the future the quicker progress you will make. So, when the good times come and you’re in a state of thriving, prepare and be ready for when the next challenge will come.
The storms and rain will always come. It’s not about avoiding them it’s about being prepared for them.
Smart homeowners prepare the house before the stormy season arrives. It’s very hard to fix the roof when it’s raining.
So, let’s stop predicting the future and start narrowing down the focus on what you can impact. Most business owners have the mindset to be patient about what they can achieve in the short term but then get impatient about what the future is bringing you.
What you need to be doing is being impatient about what you need to be doing and achieving in the short term (over the next 2 weeks) and be patient of what you will achieve in the long term.
Head down and make it happen.
– Torrin (Creating your future) Minutillo
