#failquickly with some #focus

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Written by Etienne Pretorius, 3rd February 2021.

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I was in a conversation with Kim Willoughby from The Change Lab recently. We got talking about execution and getting things done. That conversation may have been productive if it had even remained there. When someone practices law, as I do, you need to hone the ability to #focus on a task even if it's done using techniques such as the Pomodoro Timer. This conversation, however, moved to something bigger. The conversation moved onto how a business owner is sometimes tempted to chase income moving from one business or concept to the other because it looks like it could generate income. It's especially tempting if you have a strong entrepreneurial mind. Its a trap. Don't do it. Go see the article I hope Kim will write on "Flow" (no pressure Kim). Incidentally, you need to connect with Kim if you need Employment Activities or Human Resources services.

Its called focus stamina. We can plan SMART goals and project those #goals over the year. We then break the #goals down to a quarter, month, and week. My friend Jeff Itzik Merkel from Reayot uses the Momentum Planner which provides a structure already designed for a fee of around $18. Go have a look. When you remain focused on a plan for an annum it reduces the chance of being sidetracked before meeting an objective. Incidentally, you need to connect with Jeff if you need transcription, legal translation. authentication of audio & video recordings, especially if it is to be used in court as evidence.

So I did a Goggle search for the phrase "Focus is the new IQ" and found a lot of articles using the phrase, but the focus is more of a productivity tool. My mind had taken a bit of a different direction in this article. #Focus as a technique in a world of distraction can help us avoid diluting the work we attempt. If we #focus, we will find our business is built quicker and with a stronger foundation. When I left corporate I registered a private for-profit business. I have always had a small business on the side. But, this time I was going on my own instead of working for someone else. When I started the business, I did all the right things. I registered it, opened the bank account and got a website going. The problem with my plan was direction ... I started chasing income instead of building the business. In his autobiography "Black Like You" Herman Mashaba explains how he is unashamedly a capitalist and would not build a business to provide jobs, rather he would only build a business to create wealth. By creating wealth you inadvertently generate jobs. A business owner will only employ people once their turnover can afford the wage bill. I took his point and applied it to the mistakes I was making. Perhaps my motive was incorrect, you should check your motive. Building a business means not being distracted by the next idea. You must ensure that either you #failquickly and re-engineer the business because it's not working, or stick to your guns with the plan you have. It takes a good business owner to discern when each is the correct choice. But that's for another article. I need to say that I err on the side of "stick to your guns". Sometimes its a mistake, but sometimes ... sometimes ... we create something beautiful.

Sticking to your guns means you allow the business concept to mature. You are able to unlock value and become productive in that one thing. Going with a trend or a market is normally the path of least resistance. Following the trend will hinder the development of a niche offering and cultivating uniqueness. I want to suggest that you surround yourself with people who are your mentors, sound-boards and peers who can be trusted to speak on your behalf and influence constructively. Herman Mashaba speaks openly about the mentors he found in Walter Dube and Tom Henry. These mentors and peers will help when you want to change course. You need people to talk to when you make the decision to "stick to your guns" or "re-engineer".

Personal development will help you progress. But you need to have done the development before hitting the hard times. You must be prepared. As a business owner, you will find new learnings in every step you take. If you're not learning and growing then you're stagnating. Here I suggest that you focus on developing your strengths and leave your weaknesses to be covered by the people who surround you (John Maxwell). You want the relationships around you to support and rely on your strengths, and then complement your weaknesses. It is my nature to remain very independent. The problem with this is that I can often isolate, thereby distancing myself from people I can help, and who can help me. The older I get, the more I learn to rely on others. So what, they sometimes let you down, how big can the problem be when they don't do things the way you would. Yes, they can mess it up. Its a risk. But often hindsight shows me that they did it better than I did, and I was possibly going to be the one that messed it up. If you adopt the concept of #failquickly you will find that you begin to recover quicker from the 8 failures and you're able to move more quickly to build on those 2 successes. It's often those 2 successes that secure your immediate future. Its also often the 2 successes where your peers surround you with support. Therefore, it's important that a) we don't dwell on our failures and b) we aim to make as many failures in a short time as possible. As I write this I have just been invited to a group of my peers who are also business owners at Titanium Business Consultant. I promise you this, I can already see the synergy, #collaboration and #focus develop into stimulation of an entire geographic region. The area I do business in is in Johannesburg South. The perfect location for investment and personal development. But why is the south not growing? I think we have not realised the potential for #failquickly, because we are being too conservative, and because we are still learning how to #collaborate. We can change the world we live in. Let me illustrate. I have a friend who was the Head Mistress at one of the schools in the area. She had left that employ and opened her own school sometime in 2019 (I think) and then 2020 hit. How many of you can relate? But Kathy de Klerk has a growing business where she is changing young peoples lives as they negotiate the way through "high school". I cannot elaborate because I don't have her permission to do so. But Kathy and Pierre are people I want to surround myself with. These are the kind of people that stimulate personal development.

This article was meant to be a short one, and I got a bit carried away writing it. So I'm going to start winding down. I must be passionate about what I do, and good intentions help develop integrity and cultivate good values. But I think a business owner needs more than that. To be focused you must know your #purpose or at least working out what it is. You might not know right now what your #purpose is. What is your #destiny? Perhaps you will find that #purpose as you negotiate life. So your worldview might change over time, however, it will be more structured and within your control, if you adopt the principle of #focus. I hope you're able to resonate with these points I have scribed this afternoon, but if you disagree that's ok as well. If you need to chat please contact me using the details at the top of this article.