Waiting before taking action seems to be quite a challenge for some individuals these days. We appear to be caught up in a frenzy of quick action, instantaneous decisions, rush, rush, rush! For some or other reason we feel pressured to react immediately. Before we know it, this becomes our natural approach toward life.
Making a case for waiting
Do your homework well. Paul runs his own business. His market is a smaller niche market. He produces a few high end products to quite an exclusive market. For this reason a large part of the consumer market is excluded from use of his products. He is seriously considering producing a product for the middle end of the market. A business consultant advises him strongly against this. The consultant believes that Paul will jeopardise his top end products. Several other people with whom he tested this idea support the view of the consultant.
As a result Paul has decided to remain with his strategy of keeping to a small niche market. If Paul had rushed ahead without careful thought to the impact of his actions he could have lost several of his existing clients. This would drastically impact on his profitability. Waiting enabled him to make a wiser business decision.
Situations and people evoke emotions. Tandi runs a recruitment agency. Some of her clients are quite demanding. She quickly learnt that it is unhelpful to become defensive or angry when dealing with a difficult client. Instead she becomes even more client focussed. She asks questions to find out what angers them. And then asks what their ideal solution would be. Tandi has learnt to step away from power struggles with clients. She learnt that waiting and rather listening carefully to her clients increased her credibility. So her client retention is high.
Being unsure of how to proceed. Tasha is in a start-up business. She had very specific ideas initially of the service she wants to offer her clients. All her friends have different ideas of what they think she should do. Because of this she is feeling confused about what to do.
Tasha decided to stop listening to others. By waiting for a few months she worked out where her true passion lies. She is feeling much happier and more content about being on the right path for her.
New area or playing field. Entrepreneurs are in a hurry to turn their ideas into a profitable business. Many often have little appreciation for the time it takes to become established. Waiting and patience are two words that are missing out of their lives. Only a very small percentage of entrepreneurs become rich overnight. The vast majority need to put in the hours.
Old patterns of responding. It is easy to fall into certain habits and ways of operating. And thus we stay in our comfort zone. But if you run your own business you need to be creative in finding solutions to challenges. Bronwyn has always been someone who dives in immediately to solve problems. She only realised this when she became extremely irritated with everyone at home. Her children told her she was always fighting.
In as much as she was driven at work she realised she had taken on responsibility that was not hers at times. When she realised this, she consciously took on an approaching of waiting to see how situations unfold at work. She discovered that other people stepped forward to find solutions. Now she consciously thinks about whether to take action or hold back for a while first. Consequently she is much more relaxed at home.
Too many other things going on. Sometimes we have too many things going on in our lives at one time. Colin runs his own business. He is experiencing a particularly busy time currently. He knows himself well by now. When he is stressed he lacks the capacity to reflect carefully on important issues. So waiting has become a way for him to park important decisions until he feels he has the mental space to deal with it.
In a world that is currently driven by instant reactions, the onus is on us to manage ourselves better. Coaching is a useful too to help you make more considered and effective decisions.
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