The Official Opening Of A New Business

Walking into my new laboratory for the first time after being officially opened was a thrill of a lifetime.  It's one thing to walk into a new facility and enjoy how it feels, looks, and smells.  It's also a thrill if you had a part in its design and implementation. But I realized that I was in a very small club of people, especially in medicine, that didn't just design the facility. Or oversee it's creation. Or the formulation of the underlying business and company. Or manage the financing. Or create a business plan. Or hire the staff. Or formulate sales and marketing.  Any one of those items can be immensely gratifying, yet at that moment when I walked into my laboratory for the first morning of work...I realized that I had worn, and would continue to wear, all of those hats.  

Doing It All ... Is Gratifying

It wasn't until many years later when I realized the rareness of what I had done when it was pointed out to me by a friend Mick.  While on the phone, discussing some issues that I needed some advice about regarding the sale of that laboratory, he said something that I have never forgotten.  "Steve, you don't realize that you are in a very small club of people who have started, run, grown, and then sold a business.  Not very many people have done that...". 

Those words hit me, and...

Everyone is going to die!

I don't know anyone with it.

Everyone catches it.

I am not worried about it.

What do all of these comments have in common?

They are all based on the experience of the person who said it.  Each statement is fundamentally incorrect.  Each statement has some element of truth.  And each statement can influence what the next person thinks.

Experiential Bias 

Sounds scary, 'eh?  But what is really means is this:  We are biased to believe what we experience.  

Right now, in this COVID19 pandemic (i.e. Wuhan Coronavirus), there are a lot of people who are telling others their experience with the virus.  When they communicate it, others think that what they are hearing is the whole truth.  It is truth, but the truth that is only limited to the experience upon which it was created.  

For a healthcare worker in the COVID19 in an ICU setting with everyone on ventilators in the final stages of respiratory failure, the statement Everyone is going to die! may seem to be an accurate representation of the truth in that setting.  That's based on that person's experience.  

For others in unaffected areas in the country, I don't know anyone with it, may be equally true.  It is an accurate representation of that person's experience.  Ditto...

I don't wanna go to school.

I don't wanna practice the piano.

I don't wanna go to work.

I don't wanna save money.

I don't wanna be responsible.

I don't wanna do it.

But...

I do wanna know more.

I do wanna play music.

I do wanna good job.

I do wanna hefty bank account.

I do wanna be the boss.

I do wanna see it done.

Which is it?

What do you really wanna?

Do you wanna complain?

Or

Do you wanna accomplish?

What is it that you wanna?

It's up to you what you are gonna do.

It's time to change your wanna to a gonna...

Do you ever get that little voice in your head that tells you that you are not smart enough to lead others?  Maybe not smart enough to coach or teach them?  Maybe not even smart enough to be their friend or co-worker?

You are not alone.

The Voice Of Doubt Is In Everyone's Head

What you are hearing in your head is your voice of doubt.  The voice of your limiting beliefs. And it's the voice that stops you from advancing.  That voice talking to you in your head is probably the worst coach that you could ever imagine.  It has been the reason that billions of people have not reached their full potential.  

In listening to and reading about people from all walks of life and all positions, it's clear that everyone hears this voice.  This "coach" sure gets around and wreaks havoc with people.  It's one thing to hear those words of discouragement, but it's even worse when we listen to them. 

You May Hear Voices, But You Don't Need To Listen Or Agree

The voices won't be going away.  Everyone has them.  But what makes some people far more confident and successful is based on a couple of secrets that they have.   

First, they may hear those negative voices, but they don't listen to them.  And even better, they don't agree or encourage them.  That goes a long way to helping...

Compromises

You try to live with zero disposable plastic.  Then Wuhan Coronavirus strikes and you buy food packaged in plastic with long shelf life.

You try to buy fresh food and eat healthily. Then you find yourself buying processed food that is easy to prepare and with a long shelf life.

You try to live with a direct connection with people, yet you have nearly completely converted to tele-conferencing.

You try to provide a safe secure job for your employees, yet you had to lay off and furlough many of your staff because of the lack of business.

Compromises Are Sometimes Required

It's not a question of if you need to make compromises to your principles, it's a question of when, and why.

So what defines the when? 

My thought is that many of the guiding "principles" that we have are not absolute.  It's a rare individual who will not enact prudent and necessary compromise when needed.  To "stick to your principles" is sometimes a very bad idea.

It's also about options. 

Is there a difference between furloughing your staff when there is no revenue to pay them compared to having them lose their job permanently a couple of weeks later if your business runs out of money after paying them during that time and then goes out of business?  You bet there is! These two options have a similar short term effect with workers...

How many times have leaders made bad things happen because they didn't know the truth of what their followers think?  All the time.

Not Knowing The Truth Is Dangerous.

These types of bad decisions and bad leadership happen all the time.  Some are nearly insignificant...

Hey do you want to go out to dinner?  Answer: Ok, (While thinking, 'No let's stay in').

Let's stay home and watch TV. Answer: Ok, (While thinking, 'I would rather go for a walk.')

But many are really bad leadership decisions and highly significant... 

Do you think we should pull these posts off of our platform we don't agree with?  Should we block the results of these searches?  Answer:  Sure, boss. (While thinking, 'No this is a bad idea. It's censorship. That's not what the 1st amendment is about...)

Should we force people to stay in their houses for another month? Answer: Sure, boss. (While thinking, 'No, this is a bad idea and has no scientific basis.  This is bordering on dictatorship. This will kill the economy and hurt more people than it helps.')

Should we invade Poland? Answer: Sure, Mein Fuhrer (While thinking, 'No you power-hungry idiot, you are going to get a lot of people killed.')

What's Happening Today?

There are many, many bad actions being put into place today by "leaders" because their followers are too...

So, what are you doing?

Right now.

Is it providing value to your life?  Is it helping you achieve your ultimate goals and objectives?  I hope so, after all, you are reading my blog, and the focus of this writing is to help you stop and think about the questions and comments that I post.  Then to have you think about them the remainder of the day, and perhaps the remainder of your life.

This question, What Are You Doing? is an extremely important question that you should be using all the time, and at any time.  There should be a good answer to the question each and every time you ask it.  And don't just accept any B.S. answer.  If you are on social media and you ask What are you doing?  You might be able to answer, I am actually building my relationships with others who I may be able to help me in the future when I am in need of resources for a project.  That's great if it's true.  But if you honestly have to answer, I am just checking out what people posted last night... and you realize that you are doing that just to delay working on what is really important that you need to do, but don't want to do, then you have made yourself aware.

It also can be situational. Out to dinner with friends, but your mind is elsewhere, what are you doing?  Reading a junk magazine, ...

Are you an Entrepreneur?  Are you a physician?  Are you a human? You may not realize it, but you have an extraordinary talent.  You are a juggler. 

You, The Juggler

So what does a juggler do?  The have a series of items that they are managing. They are managing to keep those various items moving.  But there is one catch....there are more items than hands, so they have to quickly move from one item to the next, giving each just a small critical slice of time. Just enough time to keep it moving and in the air.   Not a whole lot different from you, the entrepreneur.  The greater the skill of the juggler, the more items can be kept in the air.

What Are You Juggling?

Most juggler entertainers juggle items like balls, bowling pins and other harmless items like knives, fire and chain saws.  Yes, they are quite entertaining.  But you, the entrepreneur, juggle different things.  And it seems that you have more and more items that are added to the stream of juggled items as you move forward.  You worry about dropping one of those items.  What will it mean?  What will happen if I drop one?

You WILL Drop Juggled Items.

 Unlike entertainers, we are not typically juggling the same thing.  Each item is unique. Each it different.  And each has different ramifications.  Here is how I like to think...

The other day, I gave a story about how concentration seemed to transport me forward in time and how it can make time and events around you disappear. (Read it here..)

And there is another lesson that was learned in that grocery trip that my wife just observed while in the store.

Clorox Vs Bleach

While in the store, looking to pick up a bottle of bleach (yes, take that! you coronavirus..) she came across an interesting, but not entirely surprising finding:  Completely empty shelves where the Clorox bleach was, while the "off-brand" bleach was completely full.

Hmmm... Same stuff.  Obviously different demand. 

You can't say it was the price, because the off-brand was cheaper. It wasn't because one is better than the other.  There isn't ANY reason that one is sold out while the other isn't ... except ... brand recognition.

Clorox isn't alone

There are other brands that have become household names.  In this case, you are not buying sodium hypochlorite, and you are not buying bleach, you are buying Clorox.  Facial tissue? Nope...Kleenex.  Smartphone?  Nope again ... iPhone.  Acetaminophen?  Nope ...Tylenol.

What are you? Your business?

If you are looking to start, build, or expand your business, having a brand that is recognizable is a huge advantage.  When you do that, your name...

Today I was sitting in my auto while my wife was in the grocery store picking up some items we needed during this lockdown.  We sometimes go into the store together, but now we limit our exposures by only having one of us get "exposed"! 

In The Parking Lot

So I am sitting in my auto, waiting for my wife to return.  I know it's going to take a bit of time, so I break out what every other person would do.  I get my phone out.  Now after a few unsuccessful attempts on calling people (Where are they?  After all we are all on lockdown...) I decide to do some Sudoku.  I call up the game and start play.

Then Something Unusual Happened.

I looked up and everything had changed.  The shopping carts in the collection queues were gone.  The cars around me were all different.  What happened?

Then it hit me.  It was the intense focus on the game.  Time had gone by and I was completely unaware of it.  Was it distraction? Or was it concentration?

Distraction or Concentration?

I know that you really can't multitask.  I have written about that myth before.  And I know that we can get so wrapped up on one thing that it crowds out all other thoughts.  That is what just happened to me.   

Then I thought...

How many people are completely focused on this COVID pandemic that they are unable to...