Bad Decisions vs. Bad Luck

Go Jets! I had to put that in here first. Yesterday, I drove my 3 little guys down to Atlantic City to hook up with my brother to watch the bigs Jet's game in a great spot - 'Games On' on Caesar's Pier overlooking the ocean. He had a free room, we all had a day off, so we decided to make an adventure of it! Still on a high from the big Jets upset, we took the kids to an arcade today, the kind where you win tickets and exchange them for prizes. Because my son Jack is such a HUGE Jets fan, he wanted a Jets hat with the crazy fur coming out of the top - a mere 2000 points. Well we were very close - say within - 700 points of the big prize - when I decided to play my favorite game again -'Deal or No Deal'. Long story short, I was down to the final two cases - mine and the remaining one - with '8' and '1000' being the last remaining prizes. The banker came back with his offer - 512. No one was around but my 5 yr old and I had to decide quickly so I went with my usual high risk taking gut feeling and hit the 'No Deal' button. When they turned over my case, I wanted to cry. There it stood out - 8. I left the game with only 8 pts when I could have had 512, nearly giving my son the coveted Jet's hat prize. I was so upset I could hardly stand it. I couldn't shake my anger. My brother (who is a business owner himself, Golf Greens Fore U) just kept looking at me, partially tuning me out. Then he finally turned to me and said, "Why are you so upset, you made a bad decision. It had nothing to do with luck. Its no one's fault but your own. You made a stupid, bad decision." Aha. He was right,it was my bad decision.

I then started to think about my conversation w/my friend and colleague Maureen Ennis the night before. I was telling her about a bad career decision I made back in 1999 that I rarely speak of because I'm so regretful. I was 6 months pregnant with my first child and was working for one of the best places ever - Document Sciences Corp - a Xerox spinoff company. I just sold a huge deal with Chubb Insurance and was owed well over 6 figures in commission. This was also the time of the big .com boom. Everyone I knew was getting rich with their stock options. I finally received an offer, out of the blue, from a new .com and dollar signs flooded my mind. This was my chance!! But wait, I was 6 months pregnant, and had alot of commission coming to me and worked with such great people. But wait again, when else would I get an opportunity like this? I talked to the three people I always did at that time -my dad (who said go for it), my mom (who said oh I don't know what you should do) and my husband who said (whatever, do whatever). I didn't have a real objective sounding board, just friends and family that thought I was part superhuman, which of course I was not. So I made this bad decision, went for the .com boom, and started working harder than I ever did in my whole life. Some of the things that an outside advisor might have pointed out to me might have been - hey you might really love being a mom and going back to work only 6 weeks after baby might be heart wrenching. It was. They might have also said - hey some .coms are under capitalized and won't ever reach their current business valuations. Ever. It was that too and it never did. They might have also pointed out that - hey once you reach your due date, the last thing you feel like doing is treking into the city and working 10 hr days. I hated that and it was miserable. They of course might have also pointed out the obvious - the .com might go bust. It did.

Bad decisions. We all make them. My aha moment this weekend was that its not just lipservice. We all need an inner circle rich with business and intelligent minds to be our sounding board providing the straight talk we all need. Its really the one sure thing to track us towards rich success in today's economy as there isn't time for bad decisions and recreating any wheels. I'm very thankful for my sounding board.

I may also have one for you! The Alternative Board. Email me at laura@tabnewjersey or visit us at www.tabnewjersey.com for more information. Life is much better when we make less bad decisions.

Five Crucial Strategies for Post Recession Growth

Leveraging the knowledge and experience of small business owners from across the nation, The Alternative Board has identified five of the highest-impact strategies businesses should immediately initiate to capitalize on the beginning of a post-recession economy.

Financial Reevaluations:
Pricing – table any plans or scheduled increases until Q2
Bad Debt – change payment terms. Consider net 10 rather than the standard net 30. Charge interest. Enable customers to wire transfer funds
Employee Communication – share top-line financial data. Employees with a better idea of where the company stands are more committed to ensure the business reaches its goals
Sales Redesign: the entire landscape has changed. Those who examine their business as a true outsider will be the ones that can see clearly to pounce on rich new opportunities. Think Apple mobile checkout stations or McDonald's McCafé
Become a Social Butterfly: social networking is here to stay, and if you don’t engage, you’re leaving money on the table by not increasing word of mouth, brand awareness and thought leadership, thereby increasing sales. Engage targets through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Listen to your audience. They’ll suggest valuable ideas you never thought of
Accommodate More Potential Customers:
Recalibrate – consider different ways of delivering your services so you can target smaller companies that might not have been your ideal fit in the past
Reactivate – call a past client and offer paired down versions of your current services
Quit Functioning as an Island: business owners operate in a complex and often lonely dynamic. Expanding beyond networking groups to instead have the small business version of a board of directors – a peer advisory board – delivers an alarming impact on both business owners’ sanity and their profitability

What does Walking 39 miles in 2 days have to do with Running a Business?

This weekend I participated in the two day Avon walk for Breast Cancer all around New York City. My anxiety was very high for this event because I was too busy to train and get in shape for the 40 mile, 2 day walk. Of course I didn't have time for the preparation work - I run my own business, I manage 3 kids, I am over stretched at the kids schools and I have a very active social life. I should just be able to get out there and do it!

Well now it is 27 hours after I crossed that finish line in Hudson River Park and I have four blisters, feet that can't bear standing for more than 5 minutes, a sore back, aching shoulders and knees that feel like they were split in two. Sure, I did it alright and walked the miles, but I am paying the price big time today for my lack of planning, preparation and over confident will that made me think I could walk 39 miles in two days at the same speed of women who clearly were prepared for the challenge.

I started to contemplate on how many business owners that I meet have the same thinking. Prior to joining The Alternative Board, they are too busy, have too many fires to put out and have too much to do instead of strategically planning their business, acting on valuable objective advice or changing course to propel ahead in this economy.

I learned my lesson this weekend! A painful one, yes, but a life changing one all the same!