On Monday, I was on-site with a client in Illinois. We had some tech work to do, moving a small set of equipment out of a data room that is going to be demolished this week. It's an interesting situation, since the equipment and cabling went in just a few months ago, but now need to be moved -- and the cable will be scrapped as a result of changes to the building.
Such is life in an emerging company. Plans change. Needs change. But you keep moving forward with your eyes on the prize.
Not everyone can handle it.
There are two kinds of responses to change that just aren't helpful (as I discuss in the book with the awful title: http://stephenhultquist.com/skiing.html): first, you can insist on knowing everything before making a decision to change. If you do, you'll never make the change. This can be comforting for many people, but it doesn't help. In fact, it will stifle growth and eventually cause atrophy. It doesn't actually work in life, although many people live unfulfilled lives in this way.
Second, you can stick to the original plan regardless of what comes along. This is equally poor, since it assumes that everything is as you thought it was when you started, and it also assumes that nothing changes. And the world just doesn't work that way.
Don't YOU buy into the temptation to believe these!
Anyone who has lived in a start-up business learns a fundamental truth: you can't steer a ship that isn't moving. So, the key is to keep moving. The most important thing is to keep moving! Not to make the "right" decisions, but to keep moving and then adjust as you get more information and understand better what the options are. Steer as you go. Don't wait to get it perfect or try to keep the same course. It won't work.
Another way to look at this is that...
You can't go back, but you can start over.
Time never runs backwards. Nor does it stop. But, YOU can decide that you're just going to start over. And then do it. Time is amazing that way...
And there's a lot more about time that you may not know. That's why I'm announcing a complete course in time. Not the same old time management stuff, but a real breakthrough. Learn to shave off the time you need to get the stuff done that you care about the most.
So far, I have just put up a couple of pages as a pre-publication offer. It's not fancy, but I wanted you to have the first shot at it before I begin marketing in earnest. So, if you'd like a new perspective on your time -- and a bit of mentoring from someone who gets it done -- go check it out and sign up today: http://stephenhultquist.com/shaving.html.
And let me know what you think, too, ok?
Thanks!
Let's go!
Stephen Sven Hultquist
PS Some of you noticed that I sent you to the wrong blog on Tuesday. I apologize! The right one is here: http://stephenhultquist.com/masteringlifeblog
PPS Check out the new page, join Time Shaving, and let me know what you think: http://stephenhultquist.com/shaving.html