People are Power: Invest in Them
You are 100% in. 110% if such a thing were possible.
Everything you have is the only thing that is keeping the machine moving. Day in and day out you push, pull, focus, grind, sweat, persevere.
The tasks MUST get done. The pressure builds and builds. And when a free moment appears, the mind goes dark with dread. Anxiety, doubt, despair haunt the moment and the only thing to do is to bury the mind by getting back to doing.
How did the last day, month, three years become lost in this race? Why is there nothing to show for it? Worse, you are a shell of your former self. Inside is emptiness and void.
And so 100% has slowly burned down to zero.
This is madness. And this leads to burnout. This could be you and/or the people that work within your business.
Its been my experience that this is often a result of an unhelpful mindset towards expenditures. I call this mindset an unhealthy focus on “cost-cutting”.
Signs of this mindset include:
- Not hiring much needed help
- Purchasing solely based on price and undervaluing quality or service
- Zero or minimal budget for marketing
So how can we shift our mindset to be more helpful?
Begin by becoming an investor.
An investor looks for places to move money to that results in more money (an ROI or return on investment). An investor is all about growth.
Investment in people can lead to exponential growth when the ROI per person is well understood. There are team KPI’s and scorecards used in all industries that help measure the effect additional people can have on a company’s bottom line.
Investment in purchasing with an emphasis on reliability can support stability and predictability. Your customers and your team benefit when factors such as lead time, lifetime, or consistency are maintained and improved.
Investment in marketing is frankly the secret to success in business. Most marketing does not work, however when you learn which marketing does work, massive wealth is achievable. Here, religiously testing and measuring is key to turning marketing expense into bottom line profits. Businesses that are built for growth are built to learn.
Building a business that learns requires leadership that is willing to learn. Willingness to learn starts with you.
