One component of small business success is to know the difference between what is important and what is critical. If I asked you which you should do first what would be your answer?
Without any context your answer would be to do what is critical because it has a greater sense of urgency. What is important can wait. Here’s another question: Is this a good way to run a business?
Let’s take a look at history for some context. In 1519 Hernando Cortes left Cuba with 11 ships and sailed to Mexico. His goal was to bring Mexico under Spanish control. After they landed in a desolate area his men started to become disgruntled.
They started talking about how they were going to take the ships and sail back to Cuba where they had a comfortable life. Cortes heard of this plan and ordered his commanders to burn all 11 ships.
With the ships destroyed his men had only one focus, to stay in Mexico and conquer it which they did. Cortes understood the difference between what is important and what is critical. He got rid of the critical situation of his men deserting him immediately. In fact, he eliminated it in a manner to where it would not come up again. More importantly, it allowed him to focus on what was important, the conquest of Mexico.
Apply the lesson of Cortes to your business and life. If you are taking care of critical things, it doesn’t allow you to get to what is important. With this process how successful can your business become? The answer, in most cases, is that it can’t become very successful.
How come? Remember that process determines outcome. If you have a process in your business, or your life for that matter, that has you running around putting out fires, doing that which is critical, it is not possible for you to have the time or energy to do the important things. Accomplishing the important things is what gives your business a solid foundation for small business growth.
Without doing the important things your business is likely to fail. That’s obvious. But how we get in that position is not. We get used to running our businesses based on what is critical. It’s just the way things are.
Then that day comes when you realize that you can no longer continue on this path. Before you get to this point, work on the process in your business. When you improve the process you bring more stability and predictability. If you have employees this will increase morale and help lower turnover. Ultimately, all of these will help to improve your bottom line.
With an improved process you can now focus on what is important for small business growth and small business success. As a leader of your business and your life you must decide what is important and minimize the occurrence of what is critical.
Learn from the lesson of Cortes burning his ships. History doesn’t repeat itself. Only those who fail to study history repeat its mistakes.
