Kia Ora,
It’s March. Just going to let that sink in with you for a moment. March. Only last night I was chatting to a life-long hoa and wahine business owner, and absolutely one of the most driven people I know.
She was in tears; ‘to-do’ list looking like Mount Cook, and desperately seeking her post-Christmas mojo. She just needed to talk to someone. But she’s not the only one. So many not-just-business-folk tell me they’re waiting for their 2022 oomph to kick in, and it just ain’t happening – for so many different reasons.
It got me thinking about the he tāngata principle, which comes from the Māori proverb, ‘What is the most important thing in the world, it is the people, the people, the people.’
We as Kiwis are SO good at this people stuff. We can be the bridge between a cr*p day and a brilliant day, a hopeless hour and ‘sh*t, that was the most productive I’ve been all year’ hour.
But sometimes we forget. ‘Oh, they’ll be too busy to meet up, I don’t want to disturb them.’ Bet you’ve used that one this year.
What about making March your bridge – focusing on your people, and your community to get your March mojo kicking in now and for the rest of the year? He tāngata.
Bit of a brain dump on how you can make that happen. Here are some reminders:
Now more than ever you must reach out for support
Everyone needs a good safe sounding board
People will be DELIGHTED to hear from you
Put ‘you’ at the top of your kindness. MAKE TIME to go for a coffee, a power walk, catch up with a friend. Heck, you can do all three at once if you’re really on the clock.
Time out from ‘work’ through time out with nature, for example, isn’t procrastination. Whatever your happy place – a morning swim, a run, lying on the grass counting clouds, you’ll come out of it refreshed, sharper in your decision making, and more motivated to tackle your inbox. You’ll be more efficient by taking a small step back every now and then.
I go power walking early every morning and this has really helped me focus and ascertain what are my priorities for the day. I also choose a mix of podcasts (business stuff) and my favourite music mix to power me up.
There’s a reason the most successful leaders and entrepreneurs do this. It’s not to count their money, it’s because they understand that you need to drop back to dive in.
As for business, keep your fingertips of your breakeven and cashflow… know this well but don’t let it overwhelm you. Remember there is government support out there – sensible free advice as well as financial schemes to cater for Covid, and talk to a trusted advisor, like me!
Need a strat session? Please get in touch. One of the many amazing things you can get from a high-level strategy session is that you’ll leave in a much better place than when you arrived. Guaranteed.
And often you’ll go in believing you’ve got a problem to solve and leave realising that that wasn’t the problem at all. A strategy session can be the best unblocker to get focus, clarity, and direction.
I’ll let you into a secret. Coaches, business strategists, regional network advisors – they’re people, too. Even bank managers. You should consider your extended network as a business asset, and part of your organisation’s core community. People do business and good people do good business.
People, people, people. Remember that we can’t function without people. You need them, We all do.
We will get through this … know your controllables. And. Be. Kind.
