Aaaah the month of love…. Having researched the origin of Valentine’s day to try and understand why so many people rush out on the 14th of February to express their love to their wives, partner, lovers or secret admirer and despite all the myths surrounding the history of St. Valentine’s one thing remains consistent through all the tales – St Valentine was a young man who believed in love…
This lead me to think about love in business, we have people who love their job and those who don’t, people who start their own businesses who are full of passion and ideas for success, but after a few road bumps start falling deeply out of love with the idea of having their own business.
Why is this? Well like in a relationship… the chase, the idea of doing things together is exciting and drives us to pursue the opportunity of forming a relationship with our suitor. It’s the same In business, we have the idea of developing a dream, nurturing it until ultimately it leads to our happiness and success. We commit to the business, start exploring new opportunities, rave about the wonders and joys of what we can offer. We see ourselves as unique from any other and continue to focus on our dream. How do we keep this love and dream alive when so many factors start to impact on our happiness and success?
We go back a few steps and check in on the relationship, it all started with big visions. It is important not to lose sight of this - try remembering why you started this relationship in the first place. What was your end goal and if that was not defined at the time, now is a good time to define that now.
Make plans to reach success. Stick to your plan but be flexible. External circumstances impact us and we need to be able to shift with these and make changes. Steer away from the definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
Like in any relationship keep your ego in check. You are not always right, be open to feedback from customers, suppliers and your team. Too often we think we know everything. At the end of the day as the boss we so often think that is true? No, it’s not. The most valuable feedback you can get on your business is from others, listen and filter through the feedback, put your ego aside and make the changes you need to.
Have fun, celebrate your wins, enjoy what you do, find ways of “spicing up” your business.
Finally like in any relationship “trust” and communication are two of the most important ingredients for success. Learn to trust those you work with, delegate and support your team. In my dealing with business owners, executives and managers it is frightening to think how often I get told, “if I don’t do it myself it does not get done the right way” whose fault is that? Have you trained your team, are you communicating your expectations clearly? Are you providing them with feedback on what they are doing right or explaining where they could improve? Micromanaging your team is no different to checking your spouses every move, it does not work.
So during this month of red roses, chocolates and quotes of love, take time out to reconnect with your business and get things back on track.
Happy Valentine’s Day
Coach Sonja Shear