The obstacle in our way

The obstacle in our path… In ancient times, a king had a rock placed in a path. He then hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers simply walked by and surrounded him. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything to remove the big stone from the road. Unbeknownst to many of the people, the King was trying to teach a lesson. The lesson was that if he addresses the problem, he works to fix it, instead of ignoring it, he will get a reward in the end.

the obstacle

If you think about the story, the problem with the obstacle was not that it was in the way, or that it was an obstacle in itself, but that when you saw the obstacle, you had to make certain decisions. The wealthier merchants avoid the hurdle altogether. That could be like more mature businesses eschewing technological changes or cutting fewer staff to keep salaries and bonuses high.

The poorer merchant decided to tackle the problem head-on. This could be compared to business leaders looking for the “glimmer of hope” in the economy by doing things like creating new business models, developing products or services aimed at a new need, or taking advantage of unique buying opportunities.

Reality

Right now, it doesn’t feel good, no matter what the obstacle. Keep in mind that everyone who achieves success, however you define it, has traveled the same path that you are currently on. While that thought doesn’t necessarily matter, your situation is the one that needs to be addressed. It also means that there has to be something that makes a difference for you… something that takes you along the way.

Consider this… if it’s not moving… it’s stuck. If your obstacles are stopping you, you are stuck.

Here there are no attempts

If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll know that Master Yoda said the mighty one, “Do it or don’t do it; there’s no trying.” What does this mean? It means you have to do something. You don’t try to do something with the obstacle; Just do it. You commit to working it, either working with it or working against it. Do your research, discover the possibilities, determine the risk, and if the level of risk is appropriate for you, and don’t try… DO IT. Too many opportunities are lost by half-hearted attempts and giving up before results are seen.

Anyone with a stiff neck?

What is a stiff neck? A Stiffneck is a business leader who has all the information to make good decisions, but gets bogged down in making the wrong decisions for his business, often distracted by “something shiny new” or what others are doing.

Your business is probably very unique. The way he runs his business is unique. You could probably go to work for someone else who does the exact same thing as you and help you advance your business. Other people’s solutions won’t necessarily work for you. There is no one formula that works for all businesses to be successful. There is no one methodology that works for everyone, all the time. As a business leader, it is your responsibility to make the best decisions when approaching your obstacle. While every decision you make may not be 100% correct, making rigid choices could have devastating consequences.

settling the matter

Now… the hurdle is still there, however, you are coming unstuck. Being in the proper head space to deal with the obstacle is the first thing a smart business leader should do. From my experience, I have found it helpful to do the following:

• See the obstacle for what it is: For example: Is the problem the economy itself or is it that you have fewer customers? Have your costs gone up? Has your main supplier closed?

• Consider a few possibilities: Is it possible to buy the company from your supplier? Are you interested in repositioning your product? Have you expanded your customer base?

• Identify potential opportunities and threats: There’s nothing like jumping out of a perfectly good plane and discovering you have a backpack full of dirty clothes instead of a parachute. Consider what could go right or wrong. Also, consider the investment versus the result of missed opportunities.

• Pick your top three: Of the possibilities, which of the three seems to have the greatest chance of success? Consider this thought, you could fail. Make sure there are three contingent possibilities you can live with in the event of success or failure.

• Make a plan: Trust me… in most cases, you won’t show up. Moving “far forward and roughly to the right” won’t work when so many business leaders take the time to do things the right way. Making a plan will also require an “exit strategy”: the circumstances under which you should abandon a particular possibility and seek a “lower level” possibility.

• Executed: Don’t get stuck in the planning stages and don’t let planning make you miss out.

• To carry out: Talk the talk and walk the walk. If he becomes known as a leader who quits when the going gets tough, he will discover that he has no followers. A leader without followers is no leader at all.

The obstacle in our way

In ancient times, a king had a rock placed in a path. He then hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers simply walked by and surrounded him.

Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything to remove the big stone from the road. Then a farmer arrived with a load of vegetables. Approaching the rock, the peasant dropped his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After a lot of pushing and trying, he finally made it. As the farmer was picking up his load of vegetables, he noticed a bag lying on the road where the rock had been. The bag contained many gold coins and a note from the king stating that the gold was for the person who moved the rock out of the way. The peasant learned what many others never understand.

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one’s condition.

exist (start up), evolve (help businesses get organized and run better!) and arise (become a force in the market).

We generally enjoy working with smaller firms with revenues under $5 million that are great at what they do but want to take it to the next level. Large clients for us include private professional services firms, creative and design firms, IT and software companies, healthcare, and restaurant and catering groups. We also team up for larger projects (businesses over $5 million) and work with individual business units.

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Have an Aepiphanni of your own!

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