How to see round corners

Can you see around corners? Of course you can.

With a Mirror, Yes. But what about in your life, in your business, in your relationships?

No not by using a Medium! Not by utilising Spies! Nor by Out of Body Experiences or any other such supposed skill or ability.

We can all see around corners in our life providing we have CLARITY.

Clarity: ‘Clearness of thought or style; lucidity’

Such a small definition, for such a gigantic concept. This one word has been my inspiration. It has allowed me to take my life in hand and set it on the journey of success. I hope one or more of my articles may help you in some small way.

Clarity is essential in my business. My job is to work with clients and help them to identify the challenges that affect their lives. I work with businesses but the benefits flow into their personal life. I am not a superman. I am not the holder of “The Truth”. I am not cleverer than my clients. I don’t have any skills or knowledge that my clients cannot get or do not have. Nothing I will ever tell you or them will be new! My job is to bring a torch to the meeting and shine it on the situation so that we can see everything more clearly. I bring clarity to my clients business.

Seeing round corners. Can you think of any advantage if you had this ability? Why would you want to be able to see the future in life?

To be able to see what is ahead of you means you can prepare to take advantage of the situation or to avoid or minimise its effects. The ability to see ahead gives us Choices. We can anticipate the future. To avoid being run down by a car we can ensure we are not in that position at that time. Knowledge is power.

Knowledge is Power, and that never more true in business. The more you know about your current position, your plans for the future and the route you plan to take, the more likely you are to enjoy success. (Success is a Journey not a destination) Where can you get this weapon in your struggle for success? How do you ensure that you are fully armed in your campaign for success? Dream. But don’t stop there … dream and set objectives. Set Objectives! Setting objectives takes a dream, adds Motivation, Achievability, Reality and finally puts a plan of action into force to ensure you Take action. Be S.M.A.R.T.

My Philosophy on Objectives uses a very old principle that many of you here will have heard of and probably use in their own lives.

FIVE “P” PRINCIPLE

“Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance”

PRIOR = Its all about Timing. If you take action before events happen you can be better prepared for whatever actually happens.

PLANNING = Knowledge is Power. Planning is the gathering of knowledge together and organising it for benefit. Most researchers on time management will tell you for every minute you spend on planning will save you 10 minutes in the action phase.

PREVENTS = If you have considered the challenges ahead of you you can take actions to maximise the benefits of positive actions, mitigate the chance of bad events happening and to minimise the effect if you cannot prevent them happening. Here is the real advantage and this is just like looking around a corner.

POOR = If you run your business like a poor Fire Brigade you will turn up on the day and spend your life fighting fires. So to plan ahead is to take control of your business, to run your business rather than your business running you. Don’t fire fight, manage.

PERFORMANCE = This is what its all about, Performance. To make more money, to become better at what you do you need to plan ahead and be a professional in control of your business rather than a headless chicken reacting to whatever is thrown at you. To be good at what you do you need to decide to become a life long learner. You need to be open to new ideas. You need to listen more than you speak. You have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio and you will enjoy the journey of success more effectively.

So to see around a corner is to plan ahead, to understand where you are today, where you want to be, how you plan to get where you want to be and fully appreciate all the challenges that may face you between now and then. To not only understand the challenges but to plan your response in the event.

When I said you could look around corners you may have originally thought that it was not possible. Hopefully you will now understand that you can see around corners if you live by the Five ‘P’ Principle.

In the Physical World you need a Mirror to look around a corner. In the Business World you also need a Mirror. But in the Business World the mirror is to look at yourself, your people, your processes, your plans, your objectives ….. Your Vision.

When you look at yourself you will better understand yourself and be able to achieve greater or even fantastic results.

Napoleon was the most successful of generals of his time, if not throughout all time. He only ever lost three battles in his life, one being Waterloo. He was successful by being cautious, by taking chances but mainly by having planned the campaign in detail. He knew what had at his disposal, he knew what he wanted to achieve, he new his opposing General and the likely actions that General would take and he planned his responses. He went into detail. Fine detail. He looked around corners.

Do you look around corners in your business?

Keith A Ayres
ClarityClarity
Unlocking Potential by identifying
and eliminating challenges to your business.

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