Make a Decision and Take Action!
This article is a good reminder that it doesn’t matter what kinds of plans you have. If you don’t act on anything, nothing happens. It is so easy to get caught in analysis paralysis and not do anything. Taking almost any action is better because moving in a direction is moving closer to something than standing still. It is action that grounds anything. Read on for more about decision making and taking a followup action.
How are you progressing with the goals you set yourself this
year?
Have you made a start? Or are you still thinking about it or
caught the very popular “I’m too busy” epidemic?
Mary’s Story Mary runs her own publishing company employing 5
people. She is married with two teenagers.
When I first met Mary she told me how stressed out she was
trying to juggle work and home effectively.
Her business although surviving (just) could have achieved major
growth except for one major factor - Mary. She was very
disorganised and ran her business that way.
Mary was always complaining about the pressures of running her
business and having a life. I suggested to her that by having
personal coaching she would dramatically improve her
situation-guaranteed, providing she actioned the ideas, insights
and solutions she would gain through the process.
She’s A ‘Gunna’ Mary was a ‘gunna’. She was ‘gunna’ do this and
‘gunna’ do that. Unfortunately all she can and still does do is
talk about it. She won’t make a decision. Money wasn’t the
issue, after all she had invested thousands of dollars attending
an American guru’s week long “life changing” bootcamp. She
thought that would be her “magic life changing pill”.
Unfortunately Mary did not action what she had learned. She got
caught up in her chaotic life immediately on her return.
It’s interesting to note that many people believe that the more
they spend on some of these seminars, the better the results
will be.
What they forget to factor into the equation is themselves.
The Latest Crisis I have spoken with her a few times and
suggested the best course of action to take and she always
responds with “not right now, I have this to do and that to do
(and everything else to do)”. Mary always procrastinates and
says to call her back in a few weeks’ time when the current
major crisis should be over.
One month her database was completely wiped out. It had
mistakenly been deleted by a temporary assistant she had hired.
Of course there was no back up. It took many hours to reproduce
it.
Mary had to hire an extra person for the next month to establish
a new database. In real terms this latest crisis cost her
business thousands of dollars in lost productivity, not to
mention the effect it had on her stress levels.
People often only think of having a back up when something goes
wrong. They don’t worry about their own business and systems. As
long as they are ‘busy’, who needs to ‘waste time’ on systems?
Specialist skills are required and they are not just acquired by
experience. Mary needs to equip herself with some basic life
skills so she can live and work effectively. She has to be able
to put those skills into action!
At the rate she’s going, she won’t be living long enough to
enjoy the years of hard work she has contributed to her
business.
It’s been a couple of years since we first spoke and I’d
forgotten all about Mary until I bumped into one of her former
employees who had stayed with her for six months. Jan told me it
was extremely stressful and unrewarding working for Mary. She
could never complete her work as her duties were always
changing. Mary made promises to clients which she would often
break and Jan, being her personal assistant was the person the
clients would go to make sure the work was done on time. She was
also the key person who kept the peace with the rest of the
staff.
Jan had given Mary one month’s notice when she handed in her
resignation, so Mary had plenty of time to find a replacement.
When Jan left, Mary still hadn’t found a replacement as she left
it to the week before Jan exited to advertise the position. Of
course she did all the recruiting herself, advertised in the
local paper and had 50 replies. No doubt she wasted the next
month interviewing suitable applicants.
When Is The Right Time? When is the right time to take action?
Is it at Christmas, the new year, the beginning of the financial
year, when you’ve got nothing else to do, when your spouse
leaves you, when your business is on its last legs, when the
kids finally go to school, when the boss leaves or when you
become so sick from the stress of your life that you cannot get
out of bed?
The Final Word Henry Ford said “The hardest work known to man is
thinking”. I say “the second hardest work known to man is taking
action”.
Lorraine Pirihi, principal of The Office Organiser is
Australia’s Personal Productivity Specialist. She is also a
Business and Life Coach.
Take action today! Contact Lorraine to discuss how she can help
you on (613) 9532 5497 or email lorraine@office-organiser.com.au
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