by Carol Williams
“You can’t always get, what you want…You can’t always get, what you want…but if you try sometimes…you get what you need….”
OK; we all know that song. Right? “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is a song by the Rolling Stones on their 1969 album Let It Bleed.
Is it true? Yes and no.
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Inherent in any effective strategic plan are provisions for tracking the success or failure of the plan. By definition, “strategic planning allows for marking success and failure. Performance measurement or tracking of strategic objectives and action plans are of significance.” To effectively track whether or not you are meeting the goals set forth in your strategic plan, it is imperative that you regularly check in with your employees and monitor their progress.
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When you go to a physician, what does the nurse do before you meet with the doctor? Simple, they take your vital signs. Temperature, blood pressure, pulse and yes, sometimes they make you get on the scale. The reason the nurse does this is, just like the gauge on the outside of a pressure cooker, it gives the physician clues as to what’s going on inside your body.
Your business can be viewed, measured and monitored the same way by identifying and measuring the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of your business. KPI’s in a business, no matter what size, specifically measures how well a company is performing. Now, depending on the business model, KPIs will vary from company to company.
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By Carol Williams
First, some questions:
i) If you are a planner, what do you fear might happen without a plan? Why do things have to go “your” way? “So what” if they don’t?
ii) If you “go with the flow,” what scares you about making a plan? Is your plan too rigid? Do you fear disappointing others or perhaps not having enough room to be spontaneous?
The answer is … a little of both.
Continue ReadingBy Carol Williams
I love to procrastinate. It feels so good. Wait, what?
It does! I like to have fun you know; I’m not “all business”. While I love my work, I love fun even more. So, when I don’t really wish to “dive in” to a project, I get really busy doing things I can check off my list. Does this sound familiar? And yes, this is a form of procrastination.
Are you interested in what you might be doing to procrastinate, where you might honor it, and where you might tweak it, SO THAT you may become your Best Self? If yes, read on.
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Fear: it can be both a motivator and a cause for procrastination. Fear can have a mysterious hold on us. In this case, let’s go through the fears listed above, and demystify them.
Fear of Being Replaced: What is this one all about? I know that as an employee, I feared being replaced while being out on maternity leave, which is a real concern. But will a week really make a difference? If so, perhaps you should assess your value to your market and your unique offering.
Facing what we left Behind: This one is telling. If we leave behind our family then fear reconnecting with them, it seems that other issues must be addressed. For example, what expectations does your family have of you, and you of your family since you are an entrepreneur? It can be a lonely life sometimes, and not every family can ride the wave of an entrepreneur’s life.
Getting off the treadmill: Here we are talking about re-assessing. Vacation generally means we have time away from our “regular” lives, where we find a new perspective. It can be refreshing and rejuvenating (which is the whole purpose, really). But when we are forced to stop doing what we do every day, it can also be a little scary. Lean into this fear, entrepreneur, and stay nimble!
Overall, the science says vacation is a good thing. More unplugging leads to a creative mind. The creative mind is one thing that can’t be outsourced.
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