Be Willing to Shift Priorities When your Environment Becomes Unstable

Insurgent Tip by COMMON

As entrepreneurs, most of us like to be in the driver’s seat and to be the decision-makers in our vehicles of change. We prefer to be the one that turns the wheel and determines which roads to take and how fast or slow to travel. The best days are the ones where we hit all the green lights and traffic opens up at the right moments to let us switch lanes and get ahead. Sometimes we can predict when there will be slowdowns or detours, and we can plan accordingly. Other times, unforeseeable obstacles, inclement weather or accidents can prevent us from getting to our destination on time, or at all. In extreme cases, we are sent home and have to reassess our plans from square one.

While things like breakdowns and terrible weather conditions can give us a clear indicator that we should stop driving and shift our focus for the day, it isn’t always such an easy task to tell when our business environment becomes unstable and we need to refocus our attention on a new task or goal. As a result, we often try to power through challenges, ignoring the signs that we’d be better off if we changed course. As irrational as it may be, we often cling to our original routes with the false conviction that sticking to the plan is the best option. In reality, resistance to change is a notorious death…