Recently we've been hearing that our economy is slowing down, and that we are headed for a ... Some say we're already in a ... It makes good sense to pay ... to economic ...
Recently we've been hearing that our economy is slowing down,
and that we are headed for a recession. Some say we're already
in a recession.
It makes good sense to pay attention to economic indicators.
But a weakening economy should not give you a reason for your
sinking bottom line. If it does, then you may have just found
the real cause for your bottom line: blaming it on the economy.
Too often people believe the "reason" they are having a
particular problem is due to something that is happening
elsewhere (and usually outside of their control). This is
especially true in the business world. Here is an example:
Shoe Store A is doing very well until Shoe Store B opens up
across the street. Revenues decline at Shoe Store A as Shoe
Store B gets up and going. But, and this is a very important
but, to the degree that the owner (and staff) at Shoe Store A
attribute their decline in revenue to the existence of Shoe
Store B, TO THAT DEGREE they will be unable to deal with it.
Shoe Store A simply needs to step back and realize they have
new competition and take concrete steps to retain their current
customers and create new ones. Perhaps they need to streamline
their marketing and advertising effort. Maybe they actually
need to do some marketing for the first time!
The reason sales are down at Shoe Store A is not Shoe Store B.
Sales are down because Shoe Store A did not effectively shift
their own gears to keep their business afloat and prosperous.
That may sound simplistic, but when an executive or business
owner places the blame elsewhere, this very act of "placing
blame elsewhere" reduces his ability to devise effective
solutions. It actually reduces his ability to think straight,
because s/he is so embroiled in what is happening somewhere else.
"Elsewhere" is not a place that you can easily control. But you
do have complete control over what happens internally within
your business. You do have control over how efficient your
staff are. You do have control over how well surveyed your
marketing messages are. And you can control the level of care
shown to your customers.
There are countless aspects of your business that you have
control over. Those are the items that should occupy your time
and focus. Complete focus. To the degree that you assign the
source of a problem to "elsewhere", to that degree you will be
incapable of handling your own scene.
Let's look at one more example of this. A dental practice
considers it has "slow periods of the year." One such period
is the end of the year. Numerous professionals believe the
end of the year simply is not as productive as other parts of
the year. And of course they have statistics to back up this
belief. Every year, December is just very slow.
Then there is the dentist who decided he wasn't going to have a
slow December again. So, back in October and November, this
dentist figured out a few things to do for December. He reminded
his patients that most insurance companies do not allow you to
carry over unused insurance from year to year. He offered his
patients incentives to come in during the holiday season. He
just plain worked on it so that his December was not a "slow
period." The result? He now no longer believes in "slow periods"
and of course he has the statistics to back up this new belief.
You can always find statistics to match a belief. If you believe
you are going to have slow periods, you'll have them. Why
generate the insight, focus and hard work to fix something
that you know and believe is not fixable?
The same is true on a broader scale with "the economy". If you
believe "the economy" is the basis for your declining revenues,
you're in more trouble than you need to be. Anything that is
outside of your immediate control is just that: outside of your
immediate control. Put your total focus on your internal scene
and get yourself busy improving things there.
Leave "elsewhere" alone.
