The Owner's Manual for Small Business. Rhonda Abrams

Concepts which are impossible to achieve or highly unrealistic. It’s not surprising that guys on late-night infomercials for make-millions-in-your-spare-time schemes are typically photographed sitting on yachts in tropical locations; these hucksters know they’re selling a fantasy. Don’t get me wrong: I understand that it can be useful to have fantasies that make life more bearable, especially when you’re otherwise happy with your life or not in a position to change. Just don’t act on them and don’t sign up for that multilevel marketing scheme!

       Dream. Concepts which are potentially achievable but where only the positive aspects are seen. Many people have their own idea of their dream business; my neighbors want to own a charming bed and breakfast in a quaint New England seaport. Is this a fantasy? Not exactly. After all, some people do run delightful B&Bs on Cape Cod. The reality, however, is that it’s very difficult.

      

Vision. Concepts which are achievable and at a stage where the downsides and difficulties come into focus. At the vision stage, you’re willing to challenge your assumptions (and the claims of those who promise to make your dreams come true). You’re not afraid to understand the costs, limitations, and work required, as well as your chances of success. For those who are just dreamers, this feels like “popping the balloon.” For those who are going to be successful, this feels like the beginning.

      

Goals. A specific, realistic objective. At the goal stage, you start to give yourself clear, practical targets for achieving your vision. You understand how much you can—and cannot—achieve, and you begin to put numbers and dates to your ambitions.

       Plans. A step-by-step outline of how you are going to achieve your goals. This is where you determine how to make your vision a reality. You list action items, milestones, and activities. And then you go to work!

      I believe in dreams. In my company, I always start our annual planning sessions the same way—by brainstorming wild ideas and discussing big goals for our future. But that’s only the first hour of a three-to-five-day process. We spend the rest of the time discussing and prioritizing our goals, then devising a detailed plan for achieving them. If we didn’t, our aspirations would still be dreams. Instead, we’re busy making our dreams come true.

Goals versus Tasks

      If you’re like me, you have a “To Do” list that goes on and on: calls to make, emails to send, contacts to connect with, and a ton of things to write or do.

      I get such a good feeling from checking items off my list that it’s tempting to focus on things I can do easily, things that are quick rather than important. Usually, I manage to attend to the most urgent items.

      At the end of the day, or the week, I look over my list and see I’ve done a lot, but all too often I still feel a lack of accomplishment. And I think if only I’d worked longer, harder, or figured out how to survive with only two hours’ sleep, I’d finally take care of everything.

      The problem is, in day-to-day life, it’s natural to focus on tasks rather than goals. We look at what we have to do right now rather than examining where we are really heading and what we need to do to reach that goal.

      When was the last time you sat down and asked yourself: “What are my top three goals for the next six months, the next year, five years from now? What are the one to three most important things I can do to reach those goals?” And once you’ve set those goals, how do you remind yourself of them in the press of daily business? How do you keep focused on long-term goals rather than spending all your time on short-term tasks?

      Since goals are usually overwhelming (“Be financially secure within ten years; be profitable by the end of the year; find a strategic partner”), you have to break them down into more manageable tasks. That’s the only way you’ll ever achieve them. But our daily To Do list usually consists only of stuff we have to do, not stuff we should do—the stuff that really makes a difference.

       Usually, we take care of BUSYNESS rather than taking care of BUSINESS.

      I know you’re saying, “Rhonda, there aren’t enough hours in the day. I can’t get through all the items on my To Do list now. I work and work and work, and I’ve still got a pile on my desk to plow through.” Well, you’ve got my permission to let some things slide.

      Let’s face it: you’re not going to accomplish everything you want in a day. You’re not going to get everything done. Some stuff is going to fall through the cracks. Is it going to be the important things or the unimportant things? Usually, we take care of busyness rather than taking care of business.

      There are some things you can do to help yourself: stop taking on new projects, especially those that are not directly related to your top goals. It’s easy to see an opportunity and feel you have to grab it now. That’s not true. Usually, more opportunities come along.

      We have to learn to give the priorities we’ve already chosen a chance to succeed. Taking on too much at one time is like having quintuplets: you wouldn’t choose to give any up, but none of them are going to get quite the attention they deserve.

      Something that’s helped me stay focused on my top priority was to put physical reminders where I could see them. I made a little sign listing my top goal that I kept on my desk. And I even put technology to work: I turned my screensaver into a message board reminding me of my top goal. Whenever I stopped typing for a while, took a call, or walked away from my desk, the reminder scrolled across my screen.

      What is the single most important thing you can accomplish in the next six months in your business—the one thing that can really make a difference between cruising ahead versus just staying afloat? How will you make sure it stays on your To Do list? If you stay focused on goals, rather than on tasks, you, too, may reach your goal this year. I’m pulling for you.

Commit Yourself to the Turn

      When I was first learning to ski many years ago, a ski instructor gave me some advice about how to successfully navigate changing direction: “Commit yourself to the turn.”

      The same advice is true in business. Whenever you want to go in a new direction, you have to follow the same advice: “Commit yourself to the turn.”

      Skiing is all about turns. As a beginner, you make big turns across the entire width of the ski run. If you’re like me—a little cautious and timid in a new sport—you go slowly as you make these turns. As a result, there’s a moment in each turn in which you realize you’re facing straight downhill. That’s when you get scared.

      Now here’s the interesting part: if you stay committed—if you don’t let fear get the best of you—your body moves you around, safely completing the turn. If you waver, thinking, “Oh my gosh, I don’t want to go straight down,” then you stop turning and actually end up facing downhill—what you wanted to avoid.

      Business, too, is all about making turns. When you start a company, you have an idea of where you want to go, but you can quickly find you have to change your plan—sometimes slightly, sometimes a great deal. As you continue in business, you discover there are times that call for you to make dramatic turns: perhaps new competition enters the market, your profit margins erode, or new technologies create vast differences in how you conduct business. You have to go in a new direction.

      You may be a little timid as you set off on a new course, or you may rush quickly into it. Whatever your confidence level at the beginning, as you get into your turn—as you start to face and deal with the consequences of the choices you’ve made—that’s when you get scared.

      And that’s when you have to commit yourself to the turn. When you are developing a new direction for your company—a new project, expansion, new technologies—you have to follow through with enough support, resources, and especially time, to give it a reasonable chance of success.

      If