Hope Is Not a Plan of Action
Legacy signals
Legacy popularity: 1,486 legacy views
Every day the media continues to spew the doom and gloom on the state of the slowing global economy. Sadly the reaction by some entrepreneurs and companies is to lay low; to avoid investing in marketing or in training their staff; to do nothing about improving their business. They are paralyzed by fear and therefore take no action at all. In essence they are acting like ostriches hiding their heads in the sand, waiting out the proverbial storm to pass. And who knows when that will be.
Back in 2005 I owned a children's wholesale apparel business. As we entered the second year of operation, times were tough and we struggled to find quality sales representatives and to sell our product. At the same time, I had a friend who was also a business owner who was experiencing challenges within her business. She and I would commiserate over email about how bad things were and how we hoped that we could find that magic bullet that would turn things around and we hoped that we would both have more customers, yadda, yadda, yadda. You get the idea.
One day I was watching an Oprah show where she was interviewing CNN Correspondent Anderson Cooper. In the interview Anderson was commenting on the expectations of the New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and how he was hoping that the Governor was going to help out more and hoping that the US President was going to do more. Then Anderson added that this was all well and good, but HOPE is not a plan of action.
Hearing him say those words, it was like someone had just hit me with a 'reality check' brick in the head. I realized that all the banter between my friend and I about how we were hoping that our businesses would improve was actually getting us nowhere. We were hoping and putting out head in the sand waiting for the storm to pass. We were so busy having a pity party hoping that things would get better that we were not taking any action. That's when things started to turn around for me.
Fast forward to 2013 where there is high unemployment, rising cost of living costs and slow business growth. I learned my lesson in 2005 that if my business is to thrive, then I need to have a plan of action and to work that plan. I make a point to stay in forefront of my clients' mind and to do the things that will grow my business and to do away with those things that don't support my business growth.
So do you have a plan of action for 2013 or are you being an ostrich?
Article author
About the Author
Pamela Wigglesworth, CSP, is an entrepreneurship and marketing consultant, international speaker and the author of three business books. A resident of Asia for over 20 years, she is the CEO of Experiential Hands-on Learning. She works with organizations across multiple industries to help them increase brand awareness, increase leads and ultimately increase sales.
To learn more about Pamela, visit the Experiential website at www.experiential.sg or email her at courses@experiential.sg
Further reading
Further Reading
Article
What is your handshake worth?
My business gives me the opportunity to work with many wonderful people as a client and as a supplier of services. Some time back however, I found myself doubting. I have been doubting other people and their integrity. I found myself in the position where I was filtering all my interactions through the polarising lens of a few souring experiences. In this space and sense of doubting others I had felt unable to create words or metaphors which could possibly be of service to you. So what changed? Frankly, Brett Godfrey did.
Related piece
Article
Leaders Tell a Story
In the last week I have worked with 2 different people who are struggling to get their message across. They each have an idea and are being blocked by another persons’ apparent stubbornness. In each case when they analysed what was happening they discovered that the other person was not in fact being stubborn, but they were reacting emotionally to an inexpertly delivered message. What to do if you are being blocked.
Related piece
Article
Reclaim Your Locus of Control to Get the Results You Want
We cover the topic of Locus of Control in our Leadership programs, so it is 2nd nature for me to take full ownership for whatever outcomes I am creating in my life. After all why teach it if I am not living it? REcently I have had some events seemingly “happen to me” which rocked my belief in my own control over the results I get. Before I get on with that part of the story a short discussion on what exactly is Locus of Control and how can we use it…rnr
Related piece
Article
Delegating - Only Do what Only you Can do
Several of my coaching clients have requested support with either time management or work life balance When we have a discovery conversation on their challenge there is generally much more to discuss on the topic of insufficient delegation. They're keeping excessive responsibilities, authority and duty to their and their company's detriment. Consequently they under perform at their own level. They hold themselves back or suffer from a lack of balance in their lives with too many hours at work.
Related piece