My business is really simple when broken down to its two basic functions. Find the business then perform the service. Sure there are a lot of other details such as accounting, finance, production, inventory, project management, information technology and human resources.
Between me and employees we manage all of the aspects of running the business, but our emotions are the toughest to manage. Fear in particular has a certain grip on the human psyche that at best keeps us out of trouble and at worst can completely disable us.
On a recent trip I read, “The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life” by Ben Sherwood. It has several chapters on airplane crashes, so not exactly what you want to be reading on a long flight. The book details three types of people that face a tragedy: Fatalities, Victims and Survivors. Granted these are people facing life or death situations not usually associated with business concerns. Fatalities are people that did not have a chance of living. Think 9/11 plane passengers. There are business fatalities such as JEHT Foundation losing their funding because several of their major donors had invested with Bernie Madoff. No matter what these people did, death was a certainty. Survivors are those who managed to live despite untenable odds. Survivors are people through their own actions or thoughts allowed them to live. History is full of people who overcame great odds to survive unspeakable conditions such as the Holocaust or POW captives. Finally, victims have a chance for survival, but through mistakes or worse in-action died.
The gripping emotional consequence of fear is decision paralysis. When faced with overwhelming odds or grossly out of the ordinary scenarios, according to Sherwood, the brain searches for relevant and like past experiences to help guide you through. When you are in a burning plane that has just fallen out of the sky, your brain immediately tries to draw upon past experience to figure out what to do. The paralysis occurs when the brain cannot find that frame of reference and is unable to move forward. Survivors are able to move forward. Make the decisions that will extricate them from danger. Chances of survival increase dramatically when prepared. When was the last time you read the safety information card or listened to the flight attendant? Survivors do.
Severe business conditions can cause decision paralysis. I know. I’ve been there. At times, my business has been so far down that when I looked up, I saw the bottom. I did not know what to do, who to talk to, or where to get help. Until I accepted my circumstances and wrapped my brain around my fear was I able to move forward. Here’s what I did:
I took responsibility for where I was and how I got here. I let go of being angry of how I got into the mess because nothing could change the fact that I was down or the past events. Stripping away the emotions, I was able to see the lessons and store that into the “let’s never do that again” file in my head. Secondly, I looked at the worst case scenarios. These scenarios rarely ever come true, but it’s important to visit and flush them out. In my case, I would have lost my business, home, credit and lifestyle. And to make matters worse, would have brought down several family members who were investors and probably bankrupted them as well. I would literally have to start over and erase the first ten or so years of my career. Recognizing that this was the worse that could happen, I began to realize that the hell of my current existence was worse. I was destroying the personal and professional relationships around me and enduring a slow, painful and protracted death. Finally I recognized what was and was not in my control. I couldn’t control the economy, gas prices, interest rates or the mortgage meltdown. I focused on what I could lend influence toward. My relationships with banks, vendors and the few customers I had left. I rolled these issues around in my head for several weeks of how I got into this predicament, facing my fears and what I had some control over. Slowly but surely I was able to release myself from the emotional baggage of the anger and fear and where I could put my energy that had an affect.
I set to work what would pull me out of this malaise. I put the lessons that I learned aside but were and still mindful of them. Then I developed a to-do list of what had to happen to survive. It was a long list but I only focused on the number one or two things at the top of the list. If I did not accomplish those items, I didn’t have to worry about the other 325 bullet points. The first few items were small and controllable and helped me to gain some small victories.
Slowly and with a lot of luck, I was able to reestablish the business and personal stability. I am mindful of past mistakes and less fearful of the ones I will certainly make in the future. It’s all part of running a business and life. Falling down is the easy part. It’s getting back up that test the character.
Jason Cohen is president of ILM Corp, a Fredericksburg based business that provides document conversion and management services. The goals of his column is to address the social and emotional aspects of running a business and how it relates to everyone’s lives. I may be reached at jcinfburg@gmail.com