Be Smarter On Your Cycles

I agree with Socrates' famous lines,

The unexamined life is not worth living.

After all, simply continuing to repeat mistakes and not recognizing the opportunities to make something different happen is tragic, at best.

You have likely seen the ebb and flow of your business cycles, relationships and even cash flow. There are market moods, natural interactions and social psychology forces continually at work around you.

While especially true in a connected economy, we are not in control. We are part of a greater cycle and interplay with people.

If you are continually in despair or surprised by the down cycles, then how about taking a step back and look for the patterns? Is there a predictability in your business? Can you anticipate how your customers and marketplace behaves?

A better strategy instead of pushing harder in the down cycles is to use those times for activities that have more impact.

There's a time to plan and a time to work.

Based on business cycles, how about spending more of your time aligning where you put your focus. Much like farmers sowed and reaped in season, you can do likewise in your endeavors. When it's not time to reap, spend a lot of time sowing.

Pull out a sheet of paper. Think about wild ideas.

Or schedule out the next six months of what is important and break it down to weekly activities that will get you to the milestone. Put it in your calendar and do those priorities first in each week.

Cycles can be a real gift if you use them for strategy and perspective and then take action with the right timing. It's not only a productive use of your time, but you can manage your energy, emotions and direction by stepping back and appreciating the natural cycles of your business.

What cycle are you in? Can you be more strategic with how you apply your attention and resources?