BIZ ALPHABET SERIES…”K”

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Welcome to the world’s first SMALL BIZ Alphabet Series of blog posts!

 “K”…KALEIDOSCOPIC

[You were expecting maybe

kangaroos, kaput, keeper. keyboard, kicks, kisses, or kudos?]

 

 

KALEIDOSCOPIC (according to Writer’s Digest Books’ FLIP DICTIONARY) means “changeable, colorful, diverse, fluctuating, motley, protean, variable, and vivid”… a pretty decent 8-word description that can be applied to the characterizing of entrepreneurial instincts and behaviors, sooo…

So, let’s explore a little of how this word impacts small business ownership and management. Since Kaleidoscopic implies an ever-changing view, it also suggests having kaleidoscopic vision. No, not “VISION” as in fancy corporate Vision Statements, not that kind… it’s more in the context of having eyes in the back of your head.

Now every entrepreneur can relate to that, right?

When you own or manage a small business — everything from a one-man-band functioning out of your kitchen, basement or garage, to a staff of 300 operating out of an industrial park complex, or a crowded office of five or ten– you must keep your antennas up and be on the lookout 24/7 for problems, potential problems, and opportunities (remembering of course that every problem is an opportunity!).

Running your own business is a lot like taking a scout group of twenty ten-year-olds on a camping trip. [Rule One is to make sure you have plenty of adult help!] You no sooner get a tent up and find yourself first-aiding a youngster with a cut knee. As you apply the bandage, another child, soaking wet from falling in the stream is in your face.

You start a fire to dry off the wet clothes and yet another camper has made off into the woods with two burning branches . . . you get the picture (or know it all too well). It is not instinctive for most of us to be firefighters at work. Corporate leaders in fact are trained not to be (real leaders plan, plan, delegate, delegate, etc.). 

But no matter what size your business, you cannot delegate responsibility. This means what comes around from putting your shoulder to the wheel stays on your shoulders, and heavy shoulders make kaleidoscopic vision difficult if not impossible. How do you turn your head when there’s an anchor around your neck?

Yet business success is often largely attributable to being able to see opportunities as they surface. That leaves not too many options. Either function in moderation — keep your plate less than full and avoid over-stress (HA! Just a joke.) — or learn the best ways to manage your attitude and your time to keep a kaleidoscopic balance.

When you can get to the point of anticipating without having packed too many parachutes and umbrellas and BandAids, when you can take things day-at-a-time yet have some long and short-term plans (and alternate routes) worked out, when you can stay focused in the here-and-now present moment: VOILA! You win!

By avoiding worry about future events that haven’t yet come (and may never), and by avoiding dwelling on past events that are over and will never return, and that can’t be changed, you are more than halfway to success. The rest depends on what you see that works for you in the rest of this BIZ ALPHABET series. Scroll away! 

                                          

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Hal@Businessworks.US   302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

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