The Eagle In A Storm Part 3

__Protect the root of your business.

A young man and his father were watching a huge fire coming down from the hills towards their family vineyard. At first, the young man tried to organize buckets of water but it was clear that the fire would engulf everything and consume the vineyard. Then to his surprise he saw the old man pick up an axe and run towards the vines. Systematically he began to cut the vines, leaving only the roots.


"We must protect the root, my son. Do as I show you."

And with this they saved a business that was several generations old.

Every business has a root, and you must know that root. You must be able to protect that root, when things are tough. Sometimes protecting that root looks cruel, but you must protect it at all costs. Sometimes it can come down to reducing activity to the bare minimum, with just a handful of staff. Your most valuable resource will always be good people.

There's no successful entrepreneur who does not know what I'm talking about. It may well be one of the most difficult things you'll ever do.

# Stay very clear about who you are and what business you're in.

# Don’t underestimate the crisis.

# Make sure you’re looking at credible data.

# Manage with grace under pressure.

# Review and revise your game plan as needed, acknowledging which plans aren’t working.

# Decide what you need to do in order to get where you want to go.

# Tackle the problems systematically. Don’t throw kerosene onto a fire.

# Don’t get distracted; make the tough decisions that you need to, without delay. One bucket of water won’t save a hectare of crisis.

# Seek and value professional advice.

# Don’t be afraid to try something new. Crisis is often how great innovation begins. (When the going gets tough, don’t give up on new growth!)

# Lead with courage and vision, even if your heart is sad.

Don’t panic. Pray and plan.

__"If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."

There’s a story told about a businessman who went to see a close and trusted friend.


"Things are so tough," he began to say, "I feel I'm in a deep hole and every day it just seems to get deeper."

"Tell me the problem," the other man asked sympathetically.

"Everyone is against me," his friend said emphatically, then began to list all the people who had undermined him and wanted to take over his company. It was a pretty impressive list.

After a while, his friend chipped in: "It appears almost everyone is trying to destroy you?"

"Absolutely!" And he continued to give more detail of people and things that had conspired to undermine his business.

"So what are you going to do?" his friend finally asked.

"I shall fight and fight."

The friend listened and then gave this advice: "I noticed as you were speaking that you yourself do not believe that you have contributed in any way to this situation?"

"No, I have not contributed in any way at all!"

"I see. So what will you do?"

"That is why I've come to you for help. I need to borrow some money to see me through this problem for the next few weeks." The friend then politely declined to give the man any assistance.

I personally would not help such a person. Do you know why?

# If you find yourself in a "hole" for whatever reason, the first thing you must do is to stop digging and making the hole bigger.

# People who refuse to accept responsibility for any situation they’re in will only make the situation worse by the actions they take. If you have a problem to solve in business, don't get distracted by looking for scapegoats or trying to mobilize political support against perceived enemies. This is why many state-owned enterprises (parastatals) find it so difficult to solve business problems.

# If you want others to help you, you must first stop digging, let go of the shovel, and allow a trusted someone to give you a hand up!

# To move forward, you must dust yourself off and analyze honestly how you got yourself into that hole. While you may feel a bit defeated, don’t just drown your sorrows with drink or other destructive and time wasting habits. An eagle in a storm must be alert for danger and opportunity at all times, not at risk of slamming into a cliff or falling into a different kind of hole!

What is the Japanese proverb? “Fall down seven times, stand up eight!”

To be continued . . .