Catchy title, eh?? Saving Your Way To Prosperity…
The bummer fact, of course, is it can’t be done, so stop trying.
“We have to accept what we all know to be elemental — that taking a defensive position can, at best, only limit losses. And we need gains.“ (emphasis added)
— Peter Drucker, HBR 1961
Written in 1961 — almost FIFTY years ago — by one of the most brilliant management minds of our time.
Ok, we’ve had some economy missteps; I get it. Financial markets continue to be unstable, at best; I get it. Uncertainty seems to be the order of the day for many; I get that too…
But you know what? There’s not squat you can do about the economy, or the financial markets as a whole, or about the uncertainty that others face. Not a damn thing.
I recently facilitated the strategic planning process for a client company. When we begin to drill down from top-level strategies, we agreed that “the economy” was not to be included as a limiter. Why? Because it’s not actionable.
The things we should be focusing on today are those things we can control in some fashion — things, tasks, decisions and directions that are actionable.
If the company, firm, or organization you are leading today is really-no kidding-sucking-serious-wind, then ok: retrench, cut back, hope for better times. But if like many of us, you’re running the business, just feeling a bit uncomfortable about the future, then make sure that the future is within your control.
And much of it is. Just focus on the things you can do, stop fretting over the things you cannot control. Think, decide, act. It’s time.
But that’s just me…
