Just Because You Can Doesnt Mean you Should - Big Thinking ...

Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should 7 Crucial Tips To Help You Avoid Biting Off More Than You Can Chew. Posted by Michael DeVenney (on 27 January 2016)

“I know there’s a lot there, but everything fits together! All the pieces build on each other! I can’t pass these up! Who turns down opportunity? And I can make it work, I know I can …” -Business Owner’s famous last words before losing focus, Bluteau DeVenney You’re an innovative entrepreneur who creates value everywhere you go – you’re smart, have unique capabilities and the work ethic to get things done. Customers sing your praises. Your strategic mind sees what could be and you can’t help but uncover and develop opportunities. But....from time to time, the number of opportunities overwhelms you, and you may bite off more than you can chew. Unfortunately, more businesses fail from commitment indigestion than starvation. In today’s Headspace, we explore the importance of being strategic about what you put on your plate, and share an approach to help you make choices that are better for you and your business. Recently, I met with a business-savvy friend to seek her advice on a number of business opportunities I was pursuing. As I went through the list of 12 initiatives, I had to admit, it seemed like a lot to juggle. As I walked her through each, I explained that from a 50,000 foot view all 12 initiatives pieced together perfectly, and I was confident I could make it work. And then she stopped me as cold as a bucket of icewater:

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” “What?!” I replied. “Of course I should. I know I can keep all of the balls in the air!” Then I thought back to similar lists in the past and my inability to say no to any opportunity. If you’re an entrepreneur, you get it. If there is an opportunity out there, you can find it, grab it and make it work. In our minds, every yes offers the potential to bolster our company's position, improve our reputation, or unleash insights that we seemingly can’t live without. Why not just say yes?

OK, so what should I say no to? Admit it, making choices is a challenge. There is always a tradeoff to be made in how we allocate our time and energy. What you say no to may feel like it is the one! You may have regret before you even make a decision. Many entrepreneurs could find their picture in the dictionary next to the definition of FOMO syndrome (Fear Of Missing Out). Defaulting to yes is, in many cases, equivalent to not making a decision at all. Too many yesses often result in having too much to do and not enough time to do it either well, or at all. Deadlines start to get missed, stress starts to rise (amongst colleagues, clients, friends and family), and the quality of work starts to miss expectations. Perhaps most importantly, with too many yesses, you actually miss the “big one”. The big one takes many forms: from meeting the needs of your priority client to getting your most important product launched to keeping your most important team members engaged. By saying yes too many times, you hurt your ability to hit your potential. In my experience, the key to success is built on focus... and that means saying no more often than yes. Often times our mind tricks us into thinking that saying no to an opportunity, is an admission of inadequacy or is a commentary on our competence. The oxymoron is that HAVING NO LIMITS ACTUALLY LIMITS YOU! Constraints are more important to success. By having constraints (or criteria) to apply to your decision making, your results you obtain generally have more creativity, better focus, and enable you to channel energy to achieve more. 7 Crucial Criteria to consider before saying yes. The key to making your best decisions is to set up a filter or set of criteria to test opportunities before considering your choices. If you try and make decisions while looking at options without a filter, emotions inevitably set in. Instinct overtakes insight, and, as Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman has taught us in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, our first instinct is often not our most strategic.

A lot of opportunities sound great at first glance and we become attracted to each one for a different reason. With so many seemingly great options, it becomes tough to make a logical decision, let alone any decision at all! Next time, before the list of opportunities go up, step back and set up an opportunity filter for yourself – the criteria an opportunity needs to meet for you to say yes. Here are the seven questions I ask myself to help me decide what to take on: 1.

What will most help you achieve your single most important result?

If you are trying to land steer your company toward serving private sector clients, taking a significant amount of public sector work runs contrary to your objectives. Personally, my current most important result is helping entrepreneurs achieve a mindset that will enable them to balance the pressures of running a business with enjoying things they love. 2.

What type of opportunities have worked best for you in the past and why?

Think back to scenarios, deals, clients that you have knocked out of the park. What were the conditions that made success possible (collaborative relationship with clients, tight timeline, opportunity to experiment). For me, the greatest opportunities have always been those that blend using my financial acumen for good, like partnering with clients in the public sector to help them through tough scenarios with investment advice. 3.

What type of opportunities have turned into disasters for you in the past and why?

Think back to projects, ventures and relationships that have gone off the rails and consider what made things go wrong (bad communication, lack of agreement on vision, the wrong partners). Things get bad for me anytime I neglect to hammer out a clear document outlining expectations at the front end of a piece of work where the outcomes are the responsibility of all parties. 4.

Under what conditions do you create your greatest value for your customer and you?

Give some real thought to what types of projects and relationships you excel in. Do you perform best when you have creative freedom or are on a tight leash? Do you thrive on bootstrapping projects or working with a mega budget? I thrive when I work a balanced schedule and minimal hours - about 30 per week. This frees up the time for me to do creative thinking outside of the office - some of my best insights have come to me hiking or cycling when I have space to think. 5.

What situations drain your energy?

It is important to know whether you live for the thrill of putting in long hours closing a big deal, or are drained by 90 hours weeks. Do you work better in the company of a big team with a lot of creative input or do you get excited by locking yourself in a room and pounding out a plan solo. For example, as an introvert, I know that my energy gets zapped if I have to work more than 4 hours a day in a group setting.

6.

What work brings out the best in you?

Think back to a time in your life where you jumped out of bed in the morning to get going and seemed to have boundless energy. Were you working on a project that involved solving a complex problem? Maybe a deal that would make you rich beyond your imagination? Try to focus on opportunities that make you feel good and get you charged up. If in your gut you know a project will be a drain on your energy, it might be best to avoid it. I’ve discovered that I do my best work when I am working closely with individuals and coaching them with lessons I’ve learned over my career - it's cathartic for me to share and my openness with them reduces some of their anxiety and fears. 7.

What work brings out the worst in you?

On the opposite end of the spectrum, remember a time when you felt simply awful about work. For me, it was a period about three years ago where I had taken on far too many projects involving complex financial analysis. I didn’t have to interact with anyone, just crank out projections. To keep up with demand, I had to work 14 hours a day for several weeks, in the process ignoring all self care. I became withdrawn, my enthusiasm waned, and I felt physically ill. I’ll admit, there is some repetition in these questions– common themes, duplication of answers, or in some instances mirror images for best and worst... and that’s OK! The more you see something mentioned as you progress through the questions, the better you can shape your criteria for selecting opportunities. As you review your answers, highlight the answers that you see over and over. Form these into 5 or 6 common themes (e.g. work in particular sector, as part of a certain type of team, projects of a certain scope, favorite partners)– you now have defined your criteria for successful opportunities. With this criteria set, you can test opportunities and rank them on a simple scale of 1 to 10 (least to best fit) and assess what to say yes to and also when to say no. But you’re not done yet.... You may still find yourself overwhelmed by the right opportunity. A second test is to have a realistic look at your time and choose the top three that create the best results for the effort involved. Perspective from other people can also be a goldmine. You don’t have to talk to your entire contact list, but 2 or 3 people with different viewpoints can be a game changer.

When I was a kid I had a habit of taking big portions of home cooked meals and was rarely able to finish. My Mum (who was an amazing cook) always said “your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” This remains true today.... but for opportunities, not desserts.

When we put too much of either food or opportunity on our plates, the result is often the same our body aches. As entrepreneurs, we are naturally excited by the latest opportunity, the shiniest new thing; however, overcommitting usually to leads to disappointment rather than achievement. Exercise sound judgment to fewer rather than many. Oddly enough, taking on less will bring you more. Come on, say it with me.......

Source: Headspace Blog, Bluteau DeVenney