As new business owners, or ones still trying to find their footing, the shiny objects can be hard to ignore. But the process that has stood the test of time for all successful businesses is working through three primary cycles in your business. The process seems more like growing a tree. It becomes a process you repeat continuously, and as you cycle through, your business will grow and get stronger.
If you are committed to the cycles and the process, the company will grow like compound interest earned on investments. It will get so easy to grow it that someone from the outside looking in might even think it is effortless. Like a tree, you can not jam a seed in the ground, dump a bunch of fertilizer on it, and grind on it. That seed (idea) will not become a tree. You must intentionally nurture your business and not just see the shiny objects.The leaves are shiny objects in the cycle of growing a tree and this metaphor. The leaves are things like business growth hacks, the new equipment revolutionizing the industry, or the get-rich-quick scheme that only gets the person you are paying rich. Too many failed businesses only focus on the leaves.
The truth is that you don’t grow a tree by watering the leaves. Those leaves come and go faster and faster in today’s super-connected and fast-paced world. The only constant in the leaves is the change, so focus your most valuable effort on the structure — roots, trunk, and branches.
Cycles for success
I have broken the process into three primary cycles: plant, plan, and perform. And you must tackle each stage with a different perspective and determination.
Plant
This is planting and nurturing a successful mindset. Get clear on the reason your business exists. You are promoting a belief in yourself and your company by surviving risks and celebrating wins. Plus, remind yourself to take 100% responsibility for your results.
Plan
This is the cycle where you make your trunk healthier. In the care phase, you plan the actions needed for the next cycle. Set goals, define relationships, pinpoint your ideal customers’ needs, develop a system for tracking your numbers, plan to improve your workflow’s efficiencies, and redesign any policies and procedures that may or may not be serving you.
Perform
This is the cycle where you take action to care for your tree. Conquering any fears that come up to determine if it is just a sign of something worth doing, monitoring whom you surround yourself with so you stay in the groove, attracting and managing the feedback, and just continuing to make constant, never-ending improvements to your cycles.If you want a strong, sustainable, and successful business, start with the idea (the seed) and then stay focused on your “reasons” and your “why.” There will be good days, bad days, and everything else in between. But as long as you believe in yourself and have a strong reason, your success is guaranteed. Just keep going through the cycles; it will get easier each time you go through them.
