We have all seen social media posts or motivational videos, from business owners and directors, claiming that they have the ‘magic formula’ or ‘secret ingredient’ for success.
The reality is that most days it is simply about having the tenacity - or what I call “bounce back” - to survive challenging situations. It’s the ability to pick yourself up off the ground when you hit a barrier or something unexpected. No one particularly wants to dwell on the pandemic, but many of the learnings that came out of that period are things I have kept with me.
Case in point: Can you operate your business if key people disappear overnight?
Many of us operated with reduced staff, or worse lost people, during Covid. Frequently, this was a necessary business decision to remain financially viable, but as a result essential skill sets were lost.
I found myself having to go ‘back to basics’ as I discovered I could not do administrative tasks that were intrinsic to the business. It does not sound like much but, when you are asking staff about systems and processes in the business that you own, discovering you don’t know how to do something is disconcerting. I felt vulnerable, and that was just one of many obstacles I was navigating during this period.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
After running a business for several years, you often work on the business and not in it. Much of the time, this is only right; we must hand over tasks within our business so that we can work strategically.
However, during the pandemic, I had to dig deep, learn, and get back to working in the business. I simply had no one else to do those daily tasks and if I wanted Compass Point Recruitment to survive, I needed to be tenacious in my pursuit of learning.
Out of that situation, I discovered there is no harm in taking time to dive back into the business. Learn your processes and understand the systems your team have put in place. With tech and AI changing all the time, nothing will stay the same. There is a radical reshaping of global markets, and we must remain tenacious in our pursuit of knowledge.
ENSURING SUCCESS
As the figurehead of a business, you carry the ultimate accountability and responsibility of all those who have trusted you with their careers, therefore it is paramount we can professionally push, fight, and challenge. As directors, we often hear “no, that’s not possible” or “it won’t work”. Tenacity is an essential attribute for all business owners; it is the quality of pursuing something you firmly believe in. Tenacity ensures your organisation is front and centre, winning orders and achieving the necessary profit margin to survive and grow. In short, it facilitates success.