“Unplug the Opportunities That Distract You. ‘Once in a lifetime’ is a fact, not a reason. There will always be ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities.”
Jim Collins offered this powerful tip to young leaders in his Peter Drucker Centennial keynote address about fifteen years ago. But it applies to all of us, all day, every day.
We spend a tremendous amount of time investing more resources into that prospective customer that won’t get off zero for months and make the purchase. We invest in the team member who is so nice and has so much potential but is simply not getting the work done. We invest in the policy or procedure that will “hold everyone accountable” at the expense of the one tough conversation with the one person who needs to be held accountable for what s/he already knows to do. We hold on to that one stock just a little longer because “it’s going to take off soon”.
The reality is, we’re tying up resources in bad, mediocre, “just ok”, and often even very good opportunities. Another opportunity is probably waiting just around the corner if we’ll slacken some resources and mental space to see and jump on it.
We could all improve by differentiating between facts and reasons. A fact is not a reason to do something. A reason to do something does not make its likelihood of success a fact. There will always be plenty of both to find to justify our continued investments in things that we know simply are not working.
Cut some things loose. Free up some resources and time. Give yourself space to think, reflect, and see new opportunities. There will always be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Unplug the stuff keeping you from being able to capitalize on the next one.
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