Disembodied Mystical Forces
By Chuck Violand
OCTOBER 04, 2011
PRINT / REPRINTS /
SHARE ON FACEBOOKSHARE ON TWITTERSHARE ON LINKEDIN | Share MORE

PLEASE GO TO; http://www.janiservu.com/ for further posts!!

Advantage Cleaning Services Does Office Cleaning For Horseheads, N.Y. 14845!!

Charlie Reese, a former columnist for the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, was known for his outspoken opinions on all matters political. Charlie was never one to pull any punches when it came to taking shots at political leaders.

In one of his columns, Charlie was bemoaning the sorry excuses some politicians give for not doing their jobs when he commented, "Do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like ''the economy'', ''inflation'' or ''politics'' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do."

I believe Charlie has a valid point when it comes to politicians. I also feel his point is valid if you switch out the word "politician" and replace it with "business owner."

As a business owner, we swear a similar oath when we take on the ownership of our company. We take this oath again every time we hire a new employee and tell him about all the great opportunities available if he works hard and remains loyal.

Yet, how many times do we conveniently forget this oath when the going gets tough, or when we have to do things we don''t really feel like doing?

Placing blame

When things get a little tough, too many business owners hide behind the same disembodied, mystical forces Charlie talks about.

It''s far easier to blame an invisible boogieman for their business problems rather than take responsibility for making things better.

If you''re going to use "the economy" as an excuse for poor business performance, then tell me what you''re doing in other areas of your business to offset the economic downturn.

Remember that if the economy is bad for you that it means it''s bad for your competitors, too. How are they doing? Are they growing faster than you? If so, ask yourself why that is. If not, then they might be an opportunity in disguise. It might also mean there''s more business out there for you to gain.

One of my favorite mystical forces is "I can''t find good help. Nobody wants to work anymore." Nobody? Really? With unemployment as high as it is we may never again in our working lives see hiring opportunities like we have today. Talented people are everywhere and the depth of talent has never been deeper.

What are you doing to make your company appealing to talented candidates? What are you doing to attract the best candidates? How aggressively are you recruiting? What future opportunities are you offering to those who hire on to your company? How eager are you to bring really talented people on board?

Charlie had it right. Disembodied mystical forces are just a fancy way of saying excuses. And we know what "they" say about excuses: Everybody''s got one, and nobody wants to hear yours.

Don''t waste another minute blaming something outside your control for the condition of your company. Take charge of your future and go out and make something happen.

Chuck Violand understands the unique challenges of small businesses, having owned a commercial cleaning and water damage mitigation company for 26 years. He founded Violand Management Associates (VMA) in 1988 as a consulting, teaching and training resource for owners of small businesses. To learn more about VMA''s services and programs, visit www.violand.com or call (330)966-0700.