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Edition 197 – The Horses are on the Track

Written by Dean Robinson.

Last Tuesday was the running of the Melbourne Cup – the race that stops the nation. I’m not much into horse racing. When it comes to horsepower, I’m a fan of more than one!

The thing about Melbourne Cup day is that, for a lot of businesses, it’s one of the two bookends that signifies the summer season – the other being Australia Day.

Today is 6 weeks until Christmas. Most businesses are madly scrambling to get things done before the Christmas shutdown, which for some, may be a little over 5 weeks away.

Already, the stress levels are increasing amongst some family businesses I know.

Their clients are demanding tight deadlines are met and projects are finished up.

Everyone is in delivery mode. Head down, tail up. Just get things done and we’ll worry about what’s next when we come up for air on Christmas Eve.

Except, next year is not just next year. Next year is the start of a new decade. We’re heading into the New 20’s.

Ironically, right now, when most family businesses are so busy that the days all blur into one, is exactly why the owners and managers of those businesses should be contemplating:

  1. Where are we at in our business at the end of the Teens?
  2. Where are we at in our lives as the decade comes to a close?
  3. How far have we come personally, professionally and financially in our business over the past decade?
  4. What mistakes have we made – and how did we rectify them?
  5. What winners did we pick, how did they come about and how can we replicate this?
  6. What are we doing now that doesn’t serve us well, and needs to change to create a better future for our businesses and our families?

Now is the perfect time to stop and reflect on your journey to this point. 

As I look back myself over the past decade, I see a period of monumental change and phenomenal growth – and I see a 2019 that I had not envisioned in 2009. The exciting thing is, I’d change none of it, and have no regrets about any of it. What about you?

Change and Growth – they are my two constants over the past ten years.
I have no doubt they will continue to be ever present over the next ten.