About 3 weeks ago I hurt my ankle while out for a run. Actually truth be told I hurt it about 5 weeks ago but kept running on it until I couldn’t run anymore. I tried putting a bandage on it myself at home and rubbing some anti-inflammatory cream into it. That seemed to work until I tried to run again. Then I thought “I’ll stop running for a while and give my ankle a chance to recuperate properly” i.e. it will get better on its own. After 5 weeks I ended up at the Physio who sorted my ankle out in two sessions.
So what on earth am I telling you this for? Simple. Because having worked with hundreds of businesses we know that this is exactly what business owners do with their business issues. Typically whether in life or business here are the silly things we will do:
We become aware of problems forming but carry on as if they aren’t there. It’s just a ‘glitch in the system’ and it will sort itself out.
We treat the symptoms of a problem ourselves because sometimes we don’t know what the root of the problem is. In my case my ankle was sore because of problems in the ankle, Achilles tendon and knee. I was trying to treat the ankle and in fact probably making things worse. Business owners try to treat cash flow problems when they’ve really got a marketing problem or they keep adding to their product line when really their sales approach is broken.
We let problems ‘run their course’ for far too long. My problem was never going to go away itself and I could have solved it 4 weeks sooner. It leaves me asking myself why on earth I hobbled around for 5 weeks in pain rather than see a Physio? You may have business problems that you’ve put to one side e.g. that staff member who is not going so well if left alone, will improve or eventually that marketing campaign that hasn’t worked so far will bring us in some business.
So why do we do this? I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks and the only answer I can come up with is this. Even though we have problems, unless they are really threatening to us in some way, we will not set aside time to solve them. The ‘pain’ we are experiencing is not enough to trigger us into action and it’s easier for us to leave things as they are. At some stage the balance goes in the other direction and we jump into action.
In my case I thought it was a simple ankle problem that would soon go away. Only when the problem started to impact my ability to walk did I get help at which time I found out my lower leg was a ticking time bomb.
Do you truly understand the root of all of the issues in your business? Are they simple problems or are some of them ticking time bombs? What ‘trigger’ events will you wait for before acting? Are some of your habits sabotaging your success?
Don’t you just love human nature!
Best regards
Owen Joyce
Your Business Success Team
Australian Business Review Pty. Ltd
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