Hacks, Hopes, and Habits.

Hacks, Hopes, and Habits. These 3 words sum up the core issues with lots of the businesses I meet, many of whom are currently stuck and aren't sure how to reboot themselves. Let me explain:

1. Hacks - the simple short cut to success with minimal effort. As promised by many a youtube thumbnail, a linkedin headline, or an instagram quote. We get seduced by them, especially as we want them to be true. The problem is using hacks/short cuts is normally not sustainable and means we can miss out on valuable deeper learning opportunities that help us develop a better understanding of a situation.

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2. Hopes - I hear this a lot - "The business is stuck, but it's just a temporary blip caused by [insert the word of your choice - brexit, the govt, the banks, interest rates, AI and so on]. It'll all come good again." Seemingly sane people spend too much time hoping the market will self-correct, or the govt will do the right thing, customers will come back out, the golf ball will magically go in, their numbers will come good on the lottery, and when these things happen then their lives and businesses will work perfectly. They place more emphasis on hope than action to proactively drive change.

3. Habits - The narrative here is – “I need some better habits, a growth mindset, to be more stoic, or more disciplined.” “It's because I'm not wearing the same clothes every day, taking ice baths, drinking yak coffee, getting up at 4am, eating clean, running ultra-marathons, and the countless other habits people are trying to sell me into.” “I just need to find the right habit and that will be set the rest of the habit dominos off, meaning the path is smoothed out and success is easy.” People leap on a particular fad habit without really understanding the power of habits, how they form, and the best way to develop them. They believe they can hack their habits and hope that will work.

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If we're honest, we've all fallen prey to these at different times. These approaches lead to business owners and others wasting their precious and limited time and resources looking for the unicorn shortcut to somewhere. Far too many business owners and leaders cannot tell me with clarity and certainty what they want to achieve. Without a clear goal or goals, it’s pointless trying to hack, hope, or find the habit that will provide that shortcut.

Q. If you are stuck, or business has plateaued, then what can you do to reboot your thinking and actions?

I'd recommend one habit that will help to get you focused and allow you to reset your resources towards success:

'Begin with the end in mind'.

This is habit 2 from the late great Stephen R. Covey’s multi-million selling book entitled - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.?

If you reset your business with a clearly defined goal, such as generating an extra ￡10K revenue per month at a 40% profit margin, you can approach this task with a very different mindset, as you and your team now have something clear to aim at.?

You can also look at how others have done that in your field or similar circumstances. This is less of a hack and more about following a blueprint of success and learning from what others have done. Or as the business philosopher, Jim Rohn used to say, "Success leaves clues."

You go from hoping for change to shaping actions that bring about the changes that support positive growth. It’s much easier to do this when you have a clear focus and goal and can see the opportunities and obstacles directly related to this.

Finally, we can acknowledge that our habits got us to where we are. But if we want to be somewhere different in the next few months then we have to change our habits. Our habits dictate our actions, and our actions dictate our results. It’s much easier to change habits with a clear destination in mind. Think of it like setting a GPS coordinate on a satnav, once set, it will provide you with real time updates on your progress and reroute you as needed.

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As useful as this information is, I know that many of you will think 'hey, that’s great, thanks for sharing' and then get distracted by a deluge of emails, text, and other notifications. All of which changes nothing and leaves you still stuck and back hacking, hoping, and habit looping on an endless treadmill that will quickly burn you out.?

Or, you could join our 3 month Business Refresh challenge, where we can support you to reset your goals and develop a new approach to your business success. Think of it as a body boot camp, but for your business. You’ll be guided to help set clear targets and follow an action plan to emerge leaner, stronger, and more energised as a business. The results will amaze you.

Three months from now either: your new self will thank you, or you'll still be pounding the treadmill expending energy but getting nowhere fast.

Q. Which situation would you prefer - a new refreshed business approach or the same grind?

Great, you want to change and refresh your approach. Get started right now – simply click here to find out more information and let your business transformation begin. Your success awaits. All it takes is a click.