The document discusses how businesses should be run like skilled stuntmen carefully planning daring stunts, not reckless drivers. It advises thoroughly evaluating all parameters, rehearsing plans, and only proceeding when fully prepared. Success requires months of careful planning, simulations, and decisions based on facts, not just emotions, though fast-moving markets demand quick action. Without proper preparation, businesses can fail like unprepared stunts. Leaders must understand their capabilities and limitations, and continuously improve their skills and planning through experience and training.
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Are You Driving Your Business Like a Stuntman or a Reckless Driver
1. "Are You Driving Your Business Like a Stuntman or a Reckless Driver?"
息 2014 by Christophe Poizat - All rights reserved
Ideally, you should drive your business like a wise stuntman and not a reckless driver. Prior
to executing any daring stunt, a stuntman always studies and evaluates all the different
parameters involved and all the possible scenarios with their associated levels of risk.
Depending on whether the probabilities of success appear to be high or low, the stunt will be
marked as feasible or not feasible -- nobody wants to risk loosing their life stupidly after all...
Once the stunt has been retained as feasible, the execution will be rehearsed many times.
First on paper, then mentally. Over and over, the stuntman will go through the whole event
and when he or she feels ready, he or she will execute the stunt in front of an audience of
astonished people. What appeared to be very daring or was even deemed impossible to do
is suddenly executed perfectly in front of a crowd of astonished people.
On Thursday May 20, 1999 Robbie Knievel completed such a stunt: a 231 ft leap over a section
of the Grand Canyon. It was certainly one of the most daring stunt. All parameters must have
been studied and evaluated with the highest precision: location, speed, angle, wind, etc...
Success was no coincidence.
Let's not forget such a daring stunt was the result of several weeks, if not months of careful
evaluations, precise simulations, and a meticulous preparation based on accurate observations
and wise decisions -- somebody's life is on the line after all. What a good example of successful
risk-management that is!
It is pretty much the same if you want to run your business successfully: you need to do some
business intelligence and plan thoroughly, you need to evaluate carefully and make fact-based
decisions and not only emotion-based decisions.
Weeks or months of preparation would likely be needed in order to make the wisest decisions
but the problem is: the market won't wait that long, your competitors are going to cut the deal
before you do if you don't move fast!
息 2014 by Christophe Poizat - All rights reserved
2. How is your driving, business-wise? Do you step on the gas pedal as soon as you hear about a
possible business deal without evaluating and planning thoroughly? How well do you know your
vehicle and all the different options? How well do you know the terrain? How precisely have
you studied all the different parameters?
How well do you know the competition and what they are doing? Do you have the right people
in place? What is the level of readiness of those people? Are they making noise
of are they playing some beautiful music?
How well and accurately you can answer these questions will of course determine your level
of success. There are many more questions you should ask yourself before firing up the engine
and putting your hands on the steering wheel.
So everything has been checked and double-checked you say and you are on a full tank and
absolutely confident you will be able to drive your company to ever-lasting success.
So, you think you are ready, finally, it is reality-check time on the battlefield! But before long,
it turns out the road is bumpier than you thought, you see other competitors passing you
by and leaving you in the dust. Their vehicle is way more powerful and these guys know how
to drive way better than you do. They drive effectively, efficiently, based on their experience
of the road and the many challenges they already have overcome many times. They know how
to play the game better than you do... Your vehicle is puffing, comes to a stop. Out of gas.
Out of munitions, that is. You are stranded in the middle of nowhere. It was supposed to be
the ride of your life and you are busted.
You think of the term "learning curve" and say: "Ok, what I need to learn I will learn by doing,
so the more I drive, the better I will be..." Only true if you are on an unlimited budget,
but who is?
So you're gonna have to take some driving lessons and presto! Don't even think of getting back
on the road before improving your driving or you will be toasted pulp for good next time and
will probably end up in front of the court as another chapter 11...
Have your vehicle checked by experts for any missing parts and do learn how to drive that
thing! Only there are many instructors that have absolutely no clues whatsoever on how to
drive a business successfully and yet that's another challenge!
If you are tired of visiting smash-repair shops and instead want to learn how to drive your
business precisely and efficiently to produce results that you never thought possible, why not
listen to a respected instructor in the field?
If you are willing to listen, I am willing to show you how to improve your driving and help you
jump over the last remaining difficulties like Robbie Knievel over the Grand Canyon!
In any case, whatever you do, don't forget to ask yourself the following questions:
1. Where are we now as a company? as a team?
2. Where do we want to be as a company? as a team?
3. How are we going to get there as a team?
4. How do we measure success? How do we know we have attained our objectives?
then use the Deming approach: Plan-Do-Check-Act, and repeat relentlessly!
To your complete success,
Christophe
息 2014 by Christophe Poizat - All rights reserved
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3. 息 2014 by Christophe Poizat - All rights reserved
Author Bio:
Christophe Poizat is a passionate entrepreneur on a mission, mentor, business coach, speaker,
author with 20+ years of international consulting experience who has lived on four continents.
More details available at http://about.me/cpoizat
Christophe is the Founder/President & CEO of International Network of Social-Eco
Entrepreneurs (INSE), a global organization offering a Web 2.0 Global Communication platform,
whose mission is to provide business education to entrepreneurs worldwide and inspire them to
work collaboratively toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by
adopting the triple bottom-line: People-Planet-Profits. More details available at:
http://bit.ly/join-INSE
Reprints rights: permission to publish this article is automatically granted, provided it is not
altered in any way and the author bio is included; a courtesy copy sent to: cpoizat at
yahoo.com is appreciated. Thank You