If It’s Important, Control It!
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
– Abraham Lincoln
Getting things doing is about doing one thing really well, setting a priority. Once a priority is set, everything thing else seems to fall into two camps; activities that make the priority happen and those that oppose it. I know it sounds simple, but there is some form of magic in setting a priority, and then the universe conspiring to make it happen. I have seen it many times in my personal and professional life, when I have finally decided that a task is my number one priority, and suddenly, people and opportunity seem to appear out of nowhere to help make it happen. Conversely, the obstacles to my priority often appear as well, which is good, since now know which problem desires my attention.A second problem emerges when we set priorities. We often find that the critical resources are beyond our control for a variety of reasons, and we are now stymied from achieving the one thing that is most important, since we did not make the effort to control it. Access to capital is a good example. If you are serious about your financial future and the freedom that comes along with it, it is absolutely necessary to have excellent access to capital, either cash, borrowed funds or assets that can be converted to cash on short notice. These opportunities often require capital on relatively short notice, but that can be difficult. However, poor record keeping, poor credit scores, poor relationships with bank managers, contractor liens, and other items can move the access of capital beyond your control. If it’s important, take action and control it thoroughly!
Now you will immediately be labelled a Control Freak by people who don’t understand your intention, or are losing because you are winning, or people who are jealous, envious or just down right incapable. If you wanted to control everything, then I would agree with them, you are a control freak. However, if you control things that are important, like your health, your financial future, your children’s education, then not being in control is just irresponsible.
Here are some principles to follow:
- Determine what is important and take total control of it. Focus on the critical few, not the trivial many since it is non-sense to think that everything is important. Determine what is most important.
- Make all the important decisions, determine who else is involved and can impact those decisions, and then ask if they are worthy of your trust. Control does not mean you do everything, but you should at least oversee everything important and then maintain even the smallest details at a high level. Don’t become complacent.
- If you are uncomfortable with the term control than re frame it in your mind as self-reliance. I have never heard anyone called a self-reliance freak! Remind yourself each day why that you are becoming self-reliant and that the reward will be worth the effort.
For the business owner, maintaining control is critical to mitigating risk and ensuring your vision is implemented. Think it through and focus on what is most important and share it with your team around you.
By Eamonn Percy
