THE PROCESS OF THOUGHT

There?is?little?that?compares?to?the?complete?thrill, excitement or high anxiety levels experienced in the building of a new business. And I can attest to this?because?I?have?done?it?seven and two half times before.

I’ve often threatened to write a book on this subject, because of all of the lessons learnt. Every time one learns something new. At times you make the same mistakes and sometimes you make all new ones in the process.

I love business and the dynamics of startup, how inventive people can be and how intuition sometimes leads founders to great innovation: Often times, when their back is up against the wall, perhaps even a gun to the head for inspiration!

Once you're constantly innovating, the really magnificent part it that the results become so spectacular.

Something I’m discovering as I get older, is that endurance and tolerance levels are tested more. You simply need to become more selective about the battles, and the meetings, that you take on.

Right now I am bumping into the most marvellous people. There’s inspiration abound, especially in this economy. But it is easy to become overwhelmed.

Because of this, I am careful to guard my time well. More than respecting the time people take to spend with me, I also work hard to process the many golden nuggets they share. The brain needs time to prioritise the parts you will take action on immediately, the ones that can wait a while, you those need to bank, so you can come back to them later.

Of course, you also need time to clear your mind and get to your next meeting. It reminds me of my days at The Clearwater Group, when I was sometimes so eager not to let meetings slip through the cracks. I’d often book them back-to-back, desperately miscalculating travel time from one end of a new city I’d be visiting, to the other end - far away.

I?was?notoriously, forever hyped in the levels of excitement and overdrive energy, because I was rushing to beat the clock. It was mostly read, thank god, as my enthusiasm for the projects I was working on! So I think I got away with it. Sometimes an entire visit would be a blur of images from the back of taxi cabs.

While Zoom and other digital technology now enable a culture of back-to-back meetings, I’ve seen people smartly cover for overrun, by “introducing you to someone new” from the previous meeting, and then saying goodbye. But there is an inherent problem. Your mind doesn’t get time to “reset”. To collect and order thoughts. To clear the slate.

My?lesson,?and?big?take?out?to?you?for today, is to manage meeting times with a buffer. Not only to cover for overrun, but also to give your brain time to recover. To reset. You simply can’t expect it to operate at full tilt, and not fall over at the end of the day.

These were my thoughts while images of the funniest comedy show flashed past me, as I sat binge-watching The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel on the couch last Friday night.

Remember your down time. For processing. Prioritising. And archiving.

Wishing you a day of being

#FOUND

#FUNDED

#FLOURISHING

(P.S. I did go back and watched the episode again, once I had released my mistake and corrected it!)