February 2nd, at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time on Gobbler's Knob in a small town in western Pennsylvania, 20,000 people and a national radio and television audience anxiously await the prognostication of America's favorite furry forecaster. In a tradition dating back 119 years, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from hibernation?and if he sees his shadow, it's back into the burrow for six more weeks of cold weather.
The celebration of Groundhog Day in America and Canada has its roots in the ancient Roman Feast of Lights and the early Christian tradition of Candlemas Day. However, it took a giant leap in popularity - as did Punxsutawney Phil and the entire town - with the 1993 release of the popular Bill Murray-Andie McDowell movie.
In the film, Murray plays a cynical weatherman - appropriately named Phil - sent to cover Groundhog Day for the fourth straight year. Having made no effort to hide his frustration during the newscast, he goes to bed the night of February 2nd only to awake at 6:00 a.m. the next morning and discover it is Groundhog Day again?and again?and again.
Are you struggling to achieve your goals and grow your small business? Albert Einstein said, insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." To truly make a leap, you have to commit to doing some things differently.
Success Handler Action: With your team, look at your small business from the "10,000-foot level," identifying areas where issues continually arise. Think about the reasons you keep encountering the same obstacles. Here are some questions to help you get started:
~ What are the things you do best?
~ Where are your biggest and most frequent frustrations?
~ Why are there differences between these results?
~ When was the last time you successfully changed something, and how did you do it?
~ Who are your team members most adept at taking action on new initiatives?
The next step is to determine which areas you want to focus on changing first. Prioritize your challenges by order of highest potential impact on your small business. Then consider possible options for fixing each one. Ask those you trust for their recommendations, and talk to other business owners about how they handle these same issues. The more input you receive, the more likely you'll reach the right conclusions.
Success Handler Action: The best way to improve those situations that are keeping you on a circular treadmill of frustration is to begin addressing your challenges one at a time, taking a proactive approach to change things. Here are five steps for implementing solutions in your small business:
1. Select the option you think is most appropriate for overcoming a specific challenge.
2. Communicate the upcoming change to everyone affected by it.
3. Train key team members, then document in writing the new processes/procedures.
4. Measure the effectiveness of your solution, tweaking wherever necessary.
5. Recognize and celebrate with your team all positive improvements.
Harold Ramis, the director of "Groundhog Day," envisioned Murray's character awakening over and over again for 10 years before finally freeing himself by learning to treat people differently. While that amount of time may have allowed Phil to learn a poem in French, create an ice sculpture and expertly play the piano, it nearly drove him crazy in the process.
Before overloading on your fill of doing the same things and getting the same results - over and over - start changing your approach in a few essential areas. You may just find that tomorrow arrives bright, sunny and with the beginning of six weeks of incredible progress for your small business.
Copyright © 2005 by Success Handler, LLC. All rights reserved.
The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, (http://www.successhandler.com), and specializes in helping small business leaders, franchisees and franchisors find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he's been there ? as a small business owner, franchisee, franchisor, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.
Q: I am an executive at a large company and... Read More
If a good manager asks his workforce for their opinion... Read More
TEAM DECISION MAKING: Managers who invite participation believe that people... Read More
One of the most important of all motivators at work... Read More
This short story, Coworkers Collaborate to Complete Successful Initiative, was... Read More
Many retailers do not have good internal controls in place... Read More
The characteristics of job applicants have a strong influence on... Read More
Every Manager has experienced the frustration of not understanding why... Read More
Each year many people create a list of resolutions designed... Read More
SWOT analysis is needed for all business to understand how... Read More
Talk to as many consultants as you can before hiring... Read More
The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT... Read More
The following nursing home collections report outlines 11 guidelines you... Read More
What is document management: When we think about "Document Management"... Read More
An individual's ability to forge effective relationships across cultures is... Read More
When you begin to write your business plan or a... Read More
It is vain to do with more what can be... Read More
One of the first questions we ask a prospect or... Read More
You've seen it happen many times. An organization that provides... Read More
Ethics - in a profession or trade - is that... Read More
One of the biggest problems we encounter in our consulting... Read More
It's easy enough to convince your own staff that better... Read More
When problem solving, you may recognize that you were working... Read More
There is a difference between being comfortable and being in... Read More
How do you, or would you, communicate with employees who... Read More
A good consultant provides specialist abilities and experience, innovative ideas,... Read More
I love tennis both as a spectator and... Read More
Often, collaborating documents in a team or in a business... Read More
As a business owner, time is of the essence. Running... Read More
A crisis, emergency or disaster can happen at anytime and... Read More
Many companies have dress codes, which include jewelry. Some companies... Read More
Do you ever meet with resistance from other people -... Read More
As Albert Einstein said:-"The significant problems we face today, cannot... Read More
Whether your company holds one meeting a week or dozens... Read More
GROUP DECISION MAKING -- IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM: Tell specifically what... Read More
An ongoing series of articles exploring the seven critical areas... Read More
Perfectionism can get in the way of building or marketing... Read More
Many entrepreneurs and chief executive officers are unaware that there... Read More
We all have psychic abilities that we use daily, although... Read More
Somewhere in the world is a person who wants to... Read More
Getting into the detail of everything each of your people... Read More
In September 2004, President Bush signed the $146 billion tax... Read More
Like many, I watched the 134th Belmont Stakes hoping to... Read More
You can possibly teach a turkey to climb a tree... Read More
Fundamentals in Place? There is a designated place for everything... Read More
Human communication is always three-dimensional. No spoken or written message... Read More
If you're like most people, you probably started with wonderful... Read More
Lynn was tapped to head up the project team for... Read More
The title implies that some people are and others not.This... Read More
Implementing an ISO 9001 system represents a major effort. However,... Read More
Human beings and the way they interact are extraordinarily Complex.... Read More
Writing a Business Plan for your next entrepreneurial endeavor is... Read More
As a leader, you'll inevitably be faced with people wanting... Read More
The need to get people in an organization to pull... Read More
And is isn't hard - it's more about focusing on... Read More
Have you ever worked with someone who always seemed to... Read More
1. Personal insight. Great CEOs are great leaders. They know... Read More
Top leaders...Are Visionary Top leaders have a very clear understanding... Read More
Workplace violence has become a tragic reality today. From minor... Read More
Introducing a learning culture into organisations can be difficult at... Read More
Conflict generally arises by having your needs, desires, perceptions and... Read More
PREPARING EMPLOYEES FOR THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL INTERVIEWS: Remind employees to... Read More
I personally struggle with the term 'managing people' - because... Read More
Eventually, your business is going to need to have some... Read More
Last month I talked about the Skilled Facilitator principle of... Read More
PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS BENEFIT THE ORGANIZATION:Appraisals help spot employees with potential... Read More
Business Management |