As I write this, the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, rescheduled to begin July 23, 2021, is in a precarious position; a number of athletes and coaches have tested positive for coronavirus, the Japanese public largely does not want to see the games take place, a major sponsor and world renown corporation, Toyota, has cancelled all its advertising for the event and, of course, there will be no spectators in attendance. A huge undertaking, years and billions of dollars in the making, the Olympic Games has life-changing possibilities for all involved. Its disruption in the last 18 months, ongoing even now, has far-reaching implications.
As a business owner, I know you’ve had your own long-term plans, perhaps risky and costly, with potential for a huge payoff and possibly, with serious consequence if they fail or even fall short of expectation. How do you handle this? How do you choose between risk and reward?
Well, let’s consider the very likely truth: you’ve probably already handled this. You might have made a hugely risky choice to leave a job and start your business or perhaps you left another business to take over the leadership of your current company. How did you decide, especially when it’s possible the lives of others – your family – were very much a part of the risk you took? Maybe you followed a process like this:
- Consider the option that’s been presented: So, some change has presented itself and it’s piqued your interest. Why? What about this appears to be an opportunity to advance or enhance a priority situation for you?
- Discuss it with interested parties and with those whose opinions you respect; what perspective have they presented that you did not consider? Is it relevant and, if so, how relevant?
- Do others need to participate in your decision or is it yours, alone? And, if ‘yes’, should it be someone who’s neutral or someone who has a subjective interest in the outcome?
- Pay attention! It’s not just the end result you’re looking towards, it’s each planned and executed step that’s vital to that outcome. Your plan and your advancement of its steps is vital. After all, the outcome may not come to pass for quite a long time.
- Will your focus on this new objective compromise other goals to which you’ve already committed resources, planning and energy or is there ‘bandwidth’ to accommodate this something new?
- Is there a measurable outcome, something that allows you to know ‘we did it!’ or not?
- What will be the loss – to you, your business and others who rely on your business – if the outcome is only partially achieved or, worst case, not achieved?
- Can you plan for loss? Odd but perhaps necessary: if you’ve been able to calculate your exposure can you plan a response? No one wants to presume a difficult outcome to a significant plan however, you can respond in a way that mitigates the setback. How will you handle it, should it come to pass?
As your business grows, there will be others on your team who need strong decision-making skills, understanding the priorities of your business and the department for which they are responsible. Do they have the skills to get it right? TogetHR Consulting offers training programs to guide your developing staff; take a look here or give us a call.