Spend Time Doing The Right Thing...Not Just Something

At Tiger, particularly at the beginning, we were so busy trying to do everything...launch a business, run a business, expand a business, put customers first, recruit, create a great place to work, deal with banks and landlords, manage cash flows, find new store locations, negotiate deals, buy stock, navigate personal lives, plan a wedding (OK, just me), network and deliver the best experience we could, we were pulled in so many directions we were in danger of not doing anything properly or to our full capability. Then one day, one of our new recruits, Vaughan, who went on to become our regional manager shared this, "Spend time doing the right thing, not just something." We stopped in our tracks, and it became our way of sense-checking decisions from then on. I even had it stuck on a post-it on my PC! Every evening I would think about the 'right thing' versus the 'something' for the next day and note it down.

Now don't get me wrong, the 'something' needs to be done some of the time. I love doing 'something' when I sit at my desk first thing in the morning just to get me into the swing of the day. A spreadsheet here, an analysis or list there. It will always be something relevant but very rarely something pertinent. It's like a warm up stretch. However, it took a while to learn not to let the stretch take up 80% of my work out. Remember this!

And, doing the right thing applies more than ever right now. Remember those first couple of weeks of lockdown. Seems like an eternity now doesn't it? Back then the thought of being unable to go out or interact how we were used to for a minimum of twelve weeks seemed ludicrous and, admit it, scary! But here we are, nearly 9 weeks later!

Think back though. We were all scrabbling around doing lots of 'something' - logging onto a webinar here, a zoom call there, reading a report, watching another news bulletin, having a telecon, scrolling through social media. There were so many resources, how were we to know which one was the right one, the most effective or efficient. We just didn't want to miss out, either because we were desperate to keep our networks alive...we needed the income...or simply we just needed the interaction.

For others, they were seeing increased workloads due to the nature of their business and were being bombarded with questions, requests and orders that were stretching their resources to the limit, whilst all still trying to work out what the next few months were going to look like. Considering what would both provide revenue now and continue to provide revenue in the long term was a huge challenge and opportunity at the same time. They just didn't have the capacity to spend time on both strategies, whilst also trying to navigate the personal and societal changes we needed to evaluate. We were all busy, busy, busy, burning ourselves out, all running on adrenaline and anxiety, but I bet very few of us could say we were busy doing the right thing in those first couple of weeks can we?

We were all busy, busy busy, burning ourselves out, all running on adrenaline and anxiety, but I bet very few of us could say we were busy doing the right thing in those first couple of weeks can we?

Let's not beat ourselves up. None of us have ever had to deal with anything like this before, and we were all dealing with our own version of events. The change curve was different for everyone. In our house we have a 3 year old, a salaried, 9 to 5, HR consultant husband, a newly freelancing wife and a grumpy black cat who likes her space. Lockdown has certainly not created a perfect scenario for us. After the first week or so of me and the husband trying to work how we normally work, while a 3 year old who doesn't understand why he can't see his grandparents or his nursery friends wants cuddles and to play, plus a cat who is disturbed that we are distracting her from her napping, we soon realised that our 'new normal' involved one of the 'grown up's' needing to adapt. Layer onto that the grown up's trying to make sense of what was going on and trying to learn a new way of doing business, as you all know, it's been a bit of a whirlwind!

And every one of us, you and I, have all gone through the last 9 weeks at different speeds, a bit like the change curve. Some of us, and some businesses pivoted very quickly, and really stepped up to the challenge through necessity and through entrepreneurship. This has been so inspiring and positive to see.

Equally, many of us have struggled with stepping up, for lots of reasons. That's OK. There have been more days than I'd like to count where I have felt overwhelmed, jealous, under-prepared, had a fear of missing out, exhausted and more. When I see other people doing all these fantastic new things, I'll admit it makes me personally feel cr*p and redundant. Everyone seems to be doing more than me or doing it better, taking the problems we are facing and turning them into opportunities. But then I try to be rationale and remember this is a snapshot of their day or their week, and if my target for the day is getting to bedtime with no tears from the toddler (or me! ha!) or with the washing done and my emails answered then that's me doing the 'right thing' not just 'something.' Nothing really matters apart from what's right for you and your business.

What I have also learned is, whilst I'm juggling this new scenario, spending time doing the 'right thing' is even more important. I have just 90 mins per day between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday for phone calls or webinars. I choose wisely. Even if it means having to miss out on something that looks interesting. Will that call or webinar help me increase my revenue and make me happy? If it ticks one of those boxes I'll think about it, if it ticks both, that's a definite slot in my diary. Outside of those hours I do work and admin. This time has really focused me on using my minutes wisely, so apologies to anyone I've declined! It's not personal.

At Tiger, sense-checking each decision via the 'right thing v. something' formula was woven into our weekly, quarterly and annual strategic planning. It would not only help us meet our KPI's, but even helped us design and set them. It helped us share the burden of responsibilities, learn from mistakes and resource the business effectively. There's always a 'nice to do' that would be a lovely project, but if it's not helping your business deliver success, your effort has to be focused elsewhere.

Now is the time for you to stop and take stock of what has happened in your business the last 2 months or so and what's coming as far as we know. Yes, it's hard to carve out that time to think clearly and plan. You may be firefighting, ridiculously busy or just can't muster the energy to focus on it. Either way, planning for the next weeks and months is imperative right now, otherwise you could be setting you and your business on the wrong path, which will be harder to come back from.

Focus your time on what will make the difference, and if you are struggling to see or get clarity on what that is then don't be afraid to get someone in to help you gain objectivity. It will be an investment not a cost, and ultimately help you gain control of what has been a rollercoaster few months.

Stay safe and well.

Kate Methuen-Ley MSc, is a business advisor and consultant specialising in business turnaround, growth and strategic planning. www.kateml.com

After a 16 year career in private sector, cross-functional marketing, in both SME’s and large corporates, Kate brought the Flying Tiger Copenhagen brand to Wales and Bristol as part of an award winning JV partnership, growing the business to 9 stores and annual turnovers of almost ￡5.5m. Since selling her share back to the parent company at the end of 2018, Kate has been using her combination of commercial skills and experience and natural coaching abilities to deliver strategic business and marketing support to a range of companies.