I recently sat in my living room listening to a storm rolling in. The thunder was roaring, demanding my attention. There were clouds of all shapes, sizes and colors. The clouds moved quickly creating a rapidly changing skyline. As I sat listening to mother nature at her finest, I reflected on the turbulent times entrepreneurs face when running a business. When storms hit your business, it’s important to maintain perspective and realize that the storm doesn’t leave the earth the same after it’s gone.A storm can leave many things behind. For farmers, they can be welcomed. They bring water and nutrients to their crops for growth. For construction workers, they are often dreaded. They almost always equate to production delays. For a home owner with the right gutters and drainage systems, they can often be transparent. Depending on the severity of the storm the aftermath may be as simple as damp soil or as severe as broken tree limbs and downed power lines.
If you know that the earth is not the same after a storm it’s critical that you not treat it the same. Just as a construction worker would not pour cement on damp grounds, course corrections are needed in business as well. You cannot simply go back to business as usual after the storm and expect to reach the goals you set forth in your business plan.
Although we have identified that you may already be behind, you must take the time to survey the damage and devise a strategy for course correction.
Call to Action: Quantify the gap the storm created. Is it recoverable? If so, great. Devise and implement a plan for course correction. If not, my hope for you is that you use it as a learning opportunity. Every storm should bring lessons and hopefully leave you stronger and more resilient for the next storm.
