Sometimes in life, as the bumper sticker goes, “Shit Happens.” No matter how carefully we plan and prepare, unexpected events can occur that threaten to upset or even destabilize us. This is true in business and in life.
Fleeing the harsh New England winter, my wife and I were enjoying a couple months of “remote work” (more on that in a future blog post) on the West Indies island of Barbados. Warm days and nights, gorgeous sunsets, turquoise Caribbean waters, white sandy beaches and the unhurried pace of “Bajan Time” made both workdays and weekends a serene alternative to frigid days spent shoveling snow.
Our sublime peace, however, was rudely disrupted when we received news that a copper pipe in our living room ceiling back home had burst due to a mid-winter sub-zero freeze. The resulting flooding was catastrophic, destroying the first floor of our two-story apartment completely. The photos and videos sent to us from family and friends who rushed to the scene were, to be honest, pretty horrifying.
Yet, as we quickly realized, we were not at all unique or alone in our misfortune. This same tragedy occurred in five units out of the total of 80 in our condo complex. All over New England, insurance adjusters and flood-mitigation services were overwhelmed.
Ok. Deep breath: while the damage was extensive, we understood the logic that our ruined furniture, electronics, art and appliances was only STUFF, and the process of demolishing and rebuilding our home was just a PROCESS. And like any process, one just needs to go through all the necessary steps to achieve the end results.
Situations like these can be powerful reminders that most complex problems, challenges and opportunities in life and in business can be solved by mere mortals. While the cliché says, “One step at a time,” I would amend that to state, “EVERY STEP, one step at a time.” If I look back over an entrepreneurial career of more than 40 years, I can say that I built my greatest successes on methodical processes driven by a creative spark, whereas my greatest failures fell prey to any attempts at shortcuts and failing to be inspired enough to attend to ALL the smallest details required for success.
In any process of making lemonade out of lemons, there are no shortcuts, and you can't leave out any ingredients and hope to get a favorable (drinkable) result! When I invented Odafree, a fecal deodorizer dietary supplement for ostomy patients, I learned these lessons in ways that were both painstaking and gratifying. While it took me several years to develop the formula for Odafree, lots of trial and error until I found the right mix of ingredients that would eliminate fecal odor, it was the mechanics of actually bringing it to market that schooled me on the one-step-at-a-time process behind every product success – sourcing bottles, labels, capsules, and custom manufacturing, not to mention navigating my way through FDA regulations. Every step was required, and every step was non-optional.
Likewise, when I established Rainier PR in London, UK in 1998 (when Rainier Communications in the U.S. was 5 years old), I spreadsheeted out the entire first year of operations in one-week increments. I left no detail to chance and religiously followed my business plan. Sure, unexpected things came up, but during that first year, revenues, profits, cash flow, staffing and operational expenses tracked remarkably closely to my plan, every step of the way.
There’s a good reason for the cliché, “The Devil is in the details.” Whether it's building a successful business, recovering from a flood, or overcoming any other challenge in life, the key is to break things down into manageable steps and focus on each one individually. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when faced with a massive undertaking, but by focusing on each individual step, we can make progress, build momentum and surmount the impossible (or at least the improbable).
In the case of our flooded condo, we know that we have a long road ahead of us. We must navigate the insurance claims process, find a reliable contractor, and oversee the demolition and rebuilding of our home. It’s a daunting task, but we are approaching it with purpose and determination. We’ve broken down each step into manageable pieces and focused on each one. It wasn't always easy, but by staying focused on our goals and knowing that this process, like so many others, can only proceed one step at a time.
While we may not always have control over the events that happen in our lives and our businesses, we do have control over how we respond to them. We can choose to view challenges as opportunities for growth and learning, or we can become overwhelmed and discouraged. The key is to have perspective (will this matter in 10 years?), and approach challenges with a sense of curiosity, determination and growth.