Are you doing everything at your business because you refuse to give up control? I was on vacation earlier this month and while out exploring waterfalls in Costa Rica, I realized that my adventure would be a lot easier if I just let the guide take over.
As part of our waterfall hike, we jumped in beside two waterfalls and rode another one down. Jumping was pretty easy. Our guide told us where to aim and how to position ourselves for a better landing. Because I was still in control of everything I was doing, I was able to do it on my timeline and be successful. Did I take a bit longer analyzing the situation than the others who could jump with abandon? Yes, but all agreed I had the best form so the extra time seemed to be worth it.
When it came time to ride the last waterfall down into the pool below, I felt more comfortable with this adventure than the jumping. We had life jackets this time and wouldn't be free falling until the last 10 feet. We climbed the ladder attached to the side of the cliff and sat on a rock to hear these new instructions.
We were to scoot into the rushing water and the guide would hold our life jackets to position us correctly for the ride down. My friend went first and made it look easy. When I scooted into the water, I found that the current was much stronger than it appeared and it was hard to get myself in the right area. The guide grabbed onto my life jacket and tried to position me in the correct place, however, the correct place was where I couldn't brace myself and had to completely rely on him to keep me from sliding away. After wrestling with him for a bit (expertly captured on video by another friend), I finally got into the correct location and body position to ride the waterfall.
What a great experience! It was really fun to shoot over the top of the cliff and ride the water down to the pool below! We all decided to take a second ride. I realized that I could trust the guide and didn't need to brace myself on the rocks at the top. And when I did that, the second ride was even better!
How does this relate to business? I’ll give you two examples. One business owner I know insists on preparing his payment applications himself, resulting in late submissions and even later reimbursements. He has plenty of staff who could prepare these payment applications for his review, and submit them on time each month. But because he refuses to let others handle the details, he ends up impacting his revenue because of his own delays. The second example is a former client. I worked with her team to streamline their payment application process, removing extra work and standardizing the monthly timeline, which resulted in a more efficient and on-time process every month. Not only did this result in less work for the owner, but these changes, along with other operational improvements, resulted in increased revenue for the company. One employee was able to focus more on business development, expanding into areas they hadn’t pursued before. Another employee was able to take on more responsibilities that interested them, and the owner has dropped their in-office time to 3 days per week.
By trusting others to help with your business, you will free yourself from stress and overwork. And when you trust others are following the correct process, you can really enjoy the ride. Standardizing your operations will help get you in the right place to relax and climb to your next adventure.
Do you want to be released from stress and overwork? Reach out to Beck Insights to find the right guide for your business.
