by Patty Azzarello
Business is Hard
Sometimes business opportunities, challenges, activities, and responsiblities become overwhelming. You get tired.
And as your business grows, things donâÂÂt tend to get easier or less busy!
Pick your pace
It’s important to find a pace that you can maintain, so you can keep making forward progress and not get burned out.
I am a cyclist.Ã
There are some tough hills that can challenge a rider to the point of total system failure â you canâÂÂt breath, your heart races, your legs are on fire.àThe only problem is that that happens after 10 minutes, and it may take 30-60 minutes to ride up the thing!
“I can do this all day”
So I force myself to pick a pace, one where even though it is still really hard, I can say to myself âÂÂI can do this all dayâÂÂ.Ã
When I get my thinking, my legs, and my heart rateàand lungs calibrated to âÂÂall dayâÂÂ, when I finally reach the top I have accomplished the task, and I am still not at the absolute end of my energy.Ã
Ifàyou know the how long the hill is, you can push yourself to get to the top faster. But you donâÂÂt always know how long the hill is.
So you need a strategy to make sure you donâÂÂt burn out on the way.
What is your pace that you “can do all day”
If there is no end in sight to the craziness or turmoil, how much physical and mental energy can you invest over an indefinite amount of time so that you can make it to the top no matter how long the hill is? and still have energy to go forward after you get there?
Get ahead of the competition
When the market gets easier and there are more opportunities, you want to have the energy and the resources to use another cycling term âÂÂjumpâÂÂâ to go really fast, right away â while the competition has burned out, given up, or failed along the way.Ã
DonâÂÂt let you head give up before your legs
Part of the âÂÂI could do this all day paceâ it to make sure you don’t talk yourself into stopping before you really need to.
I compare this to miserable tough jobs I have had. It is always interesting to note how much of the misery I put on myself, compared to that which was strictly imposed or required by the job.Ã
You can actually make a pretty big change in how you feel about your job, by deciding how YOU will manage your energy, and not letting your head give in.
Some ways to get up the hill:
It is your job to keep making forward progress in uncertain and challenging times.ÃÂ Otherwise you end up just working really hard, and not really moving the business forward, or getting anywhere personally.Ã
- List all the things you are worried about.àAre they all equally worthy of worry?àBudget your worry.àDonâÂÂt burn yourself out worrying about things that are not worth it.
- Stop something. Identify at least one thing you will negotiate âÂÂawayâ and stop doing.
- Pick a single area to ensure success. Choose one thing that you won’t fail at no matter what â and don’t let the uncertainty throw you off course.àComplete that, then do the next one.
- Talk to your team. Let them tell you what they think is hard about the current state.àDonâÂÂt underestimate the value of letting them talk about this.àAcknowledge the difficulty openly, then focus everyone on something they feel they can control and do well.
- Build your Personal Brand.ÃÂ How you act in difficult times does a lot to show the world your brand.ÃÂ Are you positive and in control, or are you changing your mind all the time, uncertain, all over the place? When you are stressed, are you treating people with respect or are you nasty?
- DonâÂÂt give up on your aggressive brilliant plans.àI do some of my best problem solving on a long hill.àKeep learning, keep thinking, keep building so that you are ready to jump when the obstacles clear.
- Think. No matter how over-scheduled you may be, schedule someÃÂ time to think every day.
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Patty Azzarello is an executive, best-selling author, speaker and CEO-advisor. She works with executives where leadership and business challenges meet. Patty has held leadership roles in General Management, Marketing, Software Product Development and Sales, and has been successful in running large and small businesses. She writes at Patty Azzarello’s Business Leadership Blog. You’ll find her on Twitter as @PattyAzzarello. Also, check out her new book Rise…
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Hi Patty,
Keeping a steady pace makes a lot of sense. Move to your own inner rhythm rather than the Simon Says do this and that and this and that and this and that and … G.
Budgeting my worry is a tip that really speaks to me. I feel so overwhelmed most of the time with my workload and how hard it is to make time for my own stuff, I end up just frustrating myself into a worry hole. Getting organized and working through it often helps me realize that I’ve been exerting stress in the wrong way.
Your ‘stop something’ tip is great advice – especially for those who over-commit and put unrealistic expectations on themselves and everyone around them. Many need to stop many things – not just one.
How someone behaves when they’re under stress is the real them. If you don’t like how you behave then you know what you need to change. That would be an excellent priority to tackle.
One thing that successful people do differently is THEY decide for themselves – they don’t let other people’s ‘shoulds’ change their game plan. Other people will always believe there is something you should make a higher priority.
Patty’s advice to THINK is key here. Take the time to stop and think about whether their suggestion is right FOR YOU or not. Decide for yourself and do NOT bow to pressure from outside.
(But if you have hired a coach you do need to really listen to what they’re recommending and consider whether they might know something you don’t. You need to discuss anything thoroughly that you don’t agree with and not just say you’ll do it and then not do it. That is counter-productive!)
You can’t please all the people because for every one that thinks one thing there is another who thinks the opposite. You must focus on what is right FOR YOU to do what you are doing that most benefits others and yourself.
It’s such a love hate relationship. I love to work, but hate the stress and tiredness. And when you think you work hard, but other people always seem to be in the office when you get there, and when you leave, you have got to wonder how affects their health and home life. Where do they find the time and energy?
Great article – I guess it’s all about drive, goals, ambition, but ultimately self-control.