How to Make Your Business Resolute with Generosity

The definition of resolute is:

admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering

Would you describe yourself and your business like this?

Take a moment to think about all the things you've done to this point. It's a lot, no?

My biggest fear for growing businesses these days is lack of focus - a directly contrasting state to unwavering effort and not that aligned with purposeful action and determination either.

Your New Year's Resolution

I read that about half of New Year's resolutions fail in the first three months. Guess what time it is?

It's time for Q2 - time for you to fail.

But you're no statistic, right?

Why Resolutions Fail

There are plenty of excuses:

?? Unexpected Stress

?? Emergencies

?? Distractions

?? Pressure

?? Laziness

?? Money

?? Family

?? Work

I've heard them all and even implemented a few (all of them ??).

Regardless of the excuse, the main reason is a lack prioritization (which eliminates focus). It can certainly be validated, but it's always relevant.

Why Failure is an Option (and Just an Option)

When faced with the option of executing an action towards your goal this past quarter, what did you do? You either chose to take that step or you chose to do something else.

If your goal was to run a marathon in November and you broke your foot, it was a wise choice not to train in February. If it was your hand, not so much.

You're thinking that certain things were out of your control. True. But most should not be, and this has to do with your choice of goal (or resolution) and how you organized the plan to execute.

The Plan

What were you doing on January 12th this year?

The data says you were quitting. The second Friday in January is National Quitter's Day. What a horrible, yet brilliant idea.

Gyms know most of their new subscribers won't be sweating on and breaking all their new equipment and fast-food joints know the kale and grass-fed beef has been used up.

You must have a plan.

A lot of businesses know you don't.

*This is not a goal-setting newsletter so if you're looking for some frameworks and ways to set achievable goals and develop the related habits, DM and I'd be thrilled to offer some suggestions.

You can't be purposeful, determined, and unwavering simultaneously without a plan. You might argue they can be done alone but I've found that when you try to stack them, it's not possible.

Ask yourself:

Who can help me?

What's the ultimate goal?

How long will it take in total?

Am I willing to sacrifice something for this?

How long will it take per day (week/month/etc.) ?

What is the most basic step I can take towards progress?

What is the number one thing that could prevent completion?

What is the number one thing that could hinder incremental progress?

Answer those and you'll have the framework for your plan.

What Does This Have to Do with Business and Generosity?

Building an impactful business is hard.

Being radically generous is too.

Doing either consistently thwarts the best of us.

But there's something special about combining business and generosity - consistency changes from a stressor to a joy.

Prioritization

A key ingredient to generosity is the prioritization of others. In fact, it doesn't exist without it. This focus on others is required to even start to be generous. Therefore, it's much easier to maintain it.

Many sources will attempt to teach you to prioritize along the way. Terrific advice yet so hard to implement after you've already developed "shiny object syndrome".

I prefer to start with things that require intense focus. Generosity is one of those things.

Imagine trying to convince someone you care about them but only acting on it occasionally.

???? This just doesn't work.

Generosity is indeed Good Business!

Make it Actionable

The relationships you have in business are critical to your company's culture. Each is an opportunity to practice generosity. Focus is only as far away as the next interaction you have.

My number one suggestion to build admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering focus is simply to ask every single person you interact with how they are doing and 1 more question. Yes, one more so that you're sure it's not colloquial. It has to be formal and meaningful.

Take your relationships seriously. They are the heart of your business and when they grow, your business, its people, and you are guaranteed to grow.

The naturally occurring and required focus ensures resolution.

This goal will not be forgotten by Q3.

The Best April Fool's Joke

Generosity is about a huge event that goes viral on social media.

?? Haa!

Generosity is a mindset, not an event.

Stay focused friend.

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#generosity #leadership #workplaceculture #giving #business #focus