Focusing On Long-Term Results Tough in Small Business

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shutterstock_223150450Last Tuesday’s All-Star Game marked the unofficial mid-way point in the very long Major League Baseball season.

This time in the baseball season always reminds me that in the marathon that is the baseball season athletes are conditioned not to get too high while on a winning streak or too low during a slump, because if the focus is on consistently practicing and refining the fundamentals of their trade, desired results will be achieved over the long haul.

Small business owners need to maintain focus on a long-term perspective well beyond the length of a typical baseball season because as Bill Gates has said, “most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

Plus, building a company that performs like a champion, just like building an athletic team of championship caliber, takes time.

The challenge for many small business leaders is that the distractions of the 21st Century make it increasingly difficult to maintain focus long enough to keep the progress going in the right direction.

My friend and colleague Dov Gordon of www.DovGordon.net likes to remind me there are only three things a small business owner needs to maintain focus on:

  • A clear focus on the desired end result.
  • A simple and specific next step.
  • How you need to “be” in the moment.

Success is just a continual series of those simple and specific next steps.

Yet, with the Internet and globalization bringing competition from around the world into virtually every small business’ backyard, the distractions are many.

Too many small business leaders allow those distractions to get in the way of making simple decisions to stay on track.

The first decision made by a Major League Baseball team towards its most desired end result is to win the World Series.

What is your “World Series?” How do you define your small business’ “Championship Vision?”

After that, the next two decisions will get you there.

So, what is your “simple and specific next step?”

How do you have to “be” to successfully execute that next step?

Those are only three things you need to be thinking about right now on your journey to creating your championship company.

Picture of Skip Weisman

Skip Weisman

Skip Weisman, The Leadership & Workplace Communication Expert, has worked with business leaders and their teams to transform both individual and organizational performance in industries from banks to plumbers since 2001. Skip’s experience helping his clients has shown that the biggest problems in workplaces today can be directly traced to interpersonal communication between people in the work environment. Having spent 20 years in professional baseball management, his first career in which he served as CEO for five different franchises, has given Skip tremendous insights and skills for build high-performing teams.  To help small business leaders create a championship culture with employees performance at the highest levels, Skip recently published this white paper report The Missing Ingredient Necessary to Improve Employee Performance. Download a free copy of this report at The Missing Ingredient Necessary to Improve Employee Performance. During a 20-year career in professional baseball management, Skip served as CEO for five different franchises. That experience gave Skip tremendous insight and skill for building high-performing teams in the workplace and championship cultures.

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