Good morning!
Hope you had a nice and restful weekend. Mine was great, but not restful. My brother and I took my father on a fishing trip as part of his fathers day gift. We figured it would be better than all those ties we bought in previous years. And, it was!
We used a popular family owned fishing company for our trip. It was started by the current owner/boat captain’s grandfather over 50 years ago. They have a good reputation and know everything about the industry. However, they too have been hit by the economic tsunami. He told us that sales are down about 70%. While we were out on the lake waiting for the fish to bite, we all talked about the economy.
The captains tone was noticably low key when he spoke about his business. You could tell things were tough for him. He stated, “we used to be booked all the time and had more business than we could handle. Big companies used to bring their employees down and we would have a great time fishing and making money. Now, I just don’t know.”
What struck me was that he was stuck on thinking about how things “used” to be. Never did I hear him mention what he was going to do about the present. The look of his boat and office/bait shop reflected how he was feeling inside “rundown.”
This is a guy who was confused about what had happened to his business and now was feeling very fearful. His confusion and fear lead to ”paralysis.” He is totally imobilized. Similar to a deer in headlights waiting for the truck to hit him, he is waiting for the economic tsunami to wipe him out.
The lesson: Don’t be the deer. Take action and get over how things “used” to be and move out of the street. What worked in the past may not work now. Those who recreate themselves and develop new business tactics will succeed.
Have a great week!
Timothy A. Laskis, Ph.D.
Founder of http:lex-t.com, A business/management consulting company since 2005.
Toll-free: 888-888-8056
