Working On Your Business

by Matthew Best

You've heard the question before - Are you working in or on your business? The
idea being that we do a lot of the technical parts of our business and we don't
invest enough time working on the business strategy and focus.

This past week, I took time away from the technical activities of my business and
I worked on my business. What an experience. Taking time away from the daily habits of your business can yield big results. First off, there is clarity. Several things became very clear to me by taking time away like this. I realized how much of a technician I am with my business – something I didn't like learning, but something that will cause me to make some serious changes with how I run my business.

When we are in the thick of doing your business it's almost like running your business
with blinders on your eyes. You lose sight of what's going on around you. Here's the biggest challenge that any entrepreneur and small business owner has with taking time away to work on their business - time. When do you have time to do this? You don't. There is always something else to do. So what's the answer - you make time. It doesn't have to be tomorrow. Look at your calendar – schedule some time - a day, a half day, even one hour if that's all you can give.

Schedule time sometime within the next month to work on your business - the strategy, your goals, your message, your marketing plan. Look, I understand that time and money are tight. It wasn't easy to put everything else on hold to work on the business - but it was vitally important. Does your business exist to serve you, or are you a slave to your business? If you are a slave to your business, it's time to take a serious look at what's going on and make some changes. You'll be glad you did.

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Are You Confusing The Tool with The Real Deal?

by Matthew Best

I had a great conversation this week about confusing the tools in our lives with
the real deal - the goal we are looking to accomplish. What I mean is that so
often we forget that a tool is just a tool, not the thing that is actually important.
Yet how often do we attach so much importance and significance to the tool that
we lose sight of this? All of a sudden the tool overshadows the goal. We lose
sight of what is important and start to drift, even while we are focused on the
tool.

A phone is a tool, yet how often do we forget that the phone is just a tool for
our convenience? Let me ask, do you work for your phone or does the phone work
for you? When do you have to answer it? When it tells you that a call or message
is coming in, or when it's convenient to your schedule?

A tool is an instrument that can be used to make your life easier, assist you in
accomplishing a goal, or make your work more efficient or effective. What are the tools in your life and your business? Are these tools making your life and business better? Or are they demanding more of your attention, time and energy? Are you confusing these tools with what really matters? Are you placing too much emphasis on the tools and not enough on the goal? Are your tools working for you, or are you working for them - answering their every beck and call? Remember your foundation - the why of what you are doing. The tools merely assist you with the how - remember this as you go through your day today.

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Are You In Control?

by Matthew Best


For the past week I've been focusing on the idea of control. So often we ask questions
that relate to control - "Who's in control here?" or "What's the process?" or "What
results should I expect?" Often, control and predictability go hand-in-hand. We get caught up in the idea of being in control. Think of times when you are not
in control and remember how insecure you felt. And so, we usually conclude that a certain level of control is either good or bad. I want to challenge your thinking on this for a moment. What if control was just a part of the process, or the process itself?

Let me explain. The next time you are at a restaurant, look at a table. Think of the table in relation to control. The table has certain weight limitation - how much can go on top of it before it will break. Doesn't that weight limit control what will go on the table? How about the size of the table? It controls how many tables and in what formation will fit in the restaurant. The table affects and controls what kinds of limits there are on the chairs that will work well with the table from a height and style standpoint. The location of the table controls the flow of traffic through the restaurant as well. You can go on and on.

So much about this table deals with control - yet, is it really about control being good
or bad? Now come back to your business. Are you in control? What is in control? And what does that mean really? What effects does that have on the business - internal and
external communication, time management, management of others, sales, customer loyalty, etc.?

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Endings and Beginnings

by Matthew Best

It's been said that beginnings are often disguised at painful endings. Take a look around you at life cycles. The ending of business or personal relationships. The ending of a job or the "failure" of a business. The ending of a sporting event.

These are all endings, but also beginnings - the question is what it is the beginning of? So often we get caught up in the status quo that we struggle to hold on to what we are familiar with. In doing this, we make the ending more painful. We are often left asking ourselves if we could have preventing the ending at all. When we lock ourselves on the familiar we miss the new beginning.

New beginnings are where the opportunities exist. New beginnings challenge us to grow, to do something new, to expand ourselves beyond what we think we know and are comfortable with.

This isn't always a pleasant experience, but it is growth. What are the endings and beginnings in your business? What are you doing today
to embrace a new beginning as an opportunity for growth?

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What’s the Principle?

by Matt Best

I've been doing a great deal of reading lately. I've read books and authors such as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations published in 1776, David Hume, also a 1700's author, Alexis DeTocqueville's Democracy in America, published in the mid 1800's, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and The 5000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen.

These are all books that I categorize as political philosophy - man's relationship to himself through government.

What is interesting is that each of these books and authors teaches something unique and at the same time they emphasize a common theme or set of principles.

I would not have seen the significance of the principles had I not read these series of books.

The principles are the things that matter - they apply regardless of who utilizes them or where. As I have been telling my clients lately, when we understand the principles and the process, we have clarity and we can accomplish great things.

When we attempt to violate the principles, we suffer the consequences.

What are the principles that govern your business? Are you conflicting with these principles or are you working in conjunction with these principles? Are you even aware of the principles? If not, what will you do about this?

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Recession Proof Attitude

by Matthew Best

Let's do a quick check - how's your attitude? Are you depressed, angry, upset, annoyed, etc? Do you watch the news, read the paper, see articles on the internet, listen to your friends and neighbors complain?

It's pretty easy to let all the negativity get to you, isn't it? We are all inundated with negativity nonstop.

Let me get right to the point - I'm sick of hearing about it! Consider this - more millionaires have been "made" during recessions and depressions than during "good" economic times.

So what is about these people that help them to be so successful?

Here's what I've learned - they can't stop being inundated with all the negativity, but they can choose to either ignore it, blow it off, etc. These people decide that they aren't interested in letting others decide how they are going to feel. They have a plan and a direction, they stay focused on it, and plow ahead.

These people understood that their emotions are there to assist them, not control them. When we act out of anger, fear, etc. we usually end up with less than desirable results. Our emotions are there to assist us in understanding what is going on - but not base our decisions solely on emotion. That's why we have a rational mind.

These people listen. Listening in many different ways. They listen to their emotions, they pay attention to what's going on around them, they see the trends that are coming. In other words, they keep their eyes open to opportunities and dangers.

Here's my final thought - get out there and succeed! You can do it!

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Trust

by Matthew Best

The band U2 recently released a brand new album. I purchased it soon after its release. I hadn't even heard a single song that was on the album. So why did I buy it?

I bought it because U2 is my all time favorite band. I've bought all of their albums over the years. I love their music.

This got me thinking about trust. Even though I had not heard a single song on the new album, I trusted that I would like it. I have this trust because in one sense, being a fan of U2, I have a relationship with the band - as all true fans do.

U2 has done an excellent job of building a loyal following. Fans have come to expect things from the relationship. They expect to hear the unique guitar sound of The Edge, one of the members of the band. In fact, you can tell a U2 song just by hearing The Edge's guitar playing.

Fans expect to see a new album out ever few years. Fans expect Bono, the lead singer, to be outspoken about the issues he cares about. Fans expect the band to put on great shows.

The band has done an excellent job of meeting these expectations and then some.

U2 has an excellent level of trust and loyalty with their fans because they work continuously to build that trust. They created the expectations they were willing to commit to.

What are you doing in your business to build trust with your own fans? What expectations are you creating? Are you at a point that if you offer a new product or service, that fans would buy it, just because you put it out? If not, why not and what are you going to do about it?

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