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The Competitive Edge Newsletter

Edition 39

Taking Action In Your Business
I've spoken quite a lot recently about knowledge - and many people 'know' they could be doing better in their business. They 'know' if they follow certain steps they would be able to grow their busines. And they 'know' it's possible for them to step back from the day-to-day workings of their business. But, they're not doing anything about what they 'know'! And it's not that they don't want to...
The way I see it is, there are three basic areas you need to be efficient in order to run your business well.

  1. You need to know what to do.

  2. You need to know how to do it, and

  3. You need to take the action to do it.

Looks pretty simple when written like that doesn't it? But it's not. You see the first two steps are academic, knowing what and knowing how but the third is in the actual doing and that's where many business owners fall down.

Why is it so hard to take action? To do the doing?

There can be many reasons for this. Some reasons are:

  • You may simply have too much to do. If this is the case, get someone - a team member, partner, outsider - to help you. And break down the tasks into manageable chunks. (You don't have to do it alone in business)
  • You may have an underlying fear of change that taking action will bring about. It's funny thing success, we all say we want it, but there's fear there too. If you become more successful, you have a new 'you' to live up to and it's not that easy. It's easier to stay where you are. But overcoming these fears brings confidence and freedom. You get to believe you can do anything.
  • You may want to achieve more but find yourself procrastinating about doing or saying this, that and the next thing. If that's the case, try this: do the things you don't like first. Get those necessary tasks - whether it's tedious paperwork or a phone call you've been delaying - out of the way. This will free you up for _________(whatever) and energise you for the day. Procrastination is energy sapping. But it's just a habit, and as such, you can change it. To do so you will need to have belief in yourself, willpower and persistence.

Even though you may 'know' what to do and 'how' to do it, do you mentally see yourself, as over the hurdle? The visualisation process, used by many great athletes, is a powerful tool. Just picture yourself in your mind as how you will be after you have done what needs to be done.

As you visualise, say, your cleared desk or your sales call is going as planned, let yourself feel as you would after you had completed the task. This is the emotional involvement needed to get the wheels turning. Start with a relatively simple task, then do it. Visualise the next thing, and so on. What you are doing is filling the void made by the redundant procrastination habit with a new habit of visualisation and action.

Another way to encourage you to take action is to jot down these three things...

  1. What you need to do,
  2. The benefits you will get for doing them,
  3. And the price you will pay for doing nothing.

If you are motivated by gain, highlight No. 2, if you are motivated by avoiding pain, highlight No. 3. Now stick the piece of paper in a prominent place and act.

I mentioned top athletes earlier. They are not superheroes who find all this motivation stuff a piece of cake. They have a coach who picks up on their weak spots, encourages their strengths and gets them through the rough times.  Successful business owners also have a coach.

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Action speaks louder than words.

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