Charge the Storm

"There are no problems in life, only situations"

-PJ Fleck

To many the incoming storm may seem like a problem, but to Coach Fleck and the Buffalo (Animal) a storm is only a situation. The situation can be addressed by running away from the storm and allowing it to chase you, or running into it - reducing the time the storm impacts you and controlling your outcome.

BUFFALO CULTURE: On the American prairie, two species respond differently to an incoming storm (weather).  Cattle scatter and run away, but cannot outrun the storm so they end up in the peak storm for longer with far less control.  Buffalo assemble and run headfirst into the storm. By charging the storm, buffalo spend less time in the peak and have more control of where they are going. Learn more here.

CHARGE THE STORM: Gary Keller, Founder of Keller-Williams Real Estate, and a frequent reference in the Relentless Pursuit newsletter, offers this analysis of how to charge the storm of an incoming recession in his January 2023 Think Like a CEO podcast. The 6 items of Gary's focus are:

  1. Be positive, see possibility: You can control the way you see the world around you. Choose to stay positive and see the possibility around you.

  2. Listen: Study everything. What you need to do is happening now in other industries, or yours and you just haven't found it yet. Be a student. Listen well.

  3. Play offense: You won't be able to thrive coming out a recession if you only play defense while in it. Identify what you need to do, then act on it.

  4. Live outside your comfort zone: Embrace change as a strategy, not a threat.

  5. Focus on what you can control: The market is always big enough for the best to succeed. Failure only occurs when you spend your time trying to control what you cannot. Choose to execute well on what you can control.

  6. Choose to live with certainty: In the past, present, and future only the future is uncertain. Define your future by anchoring yourself to 3 things you can know for sure: Who you are, what you want, and what you are willing to do for what you want.

TOOL: Plan your charge

Maximize your productivity by being prepared to charge forward, in every situation. To plan my activities, I keep a simple note in my phone with a list of tasks organized by what can be completed in each situation I'm presented.

1. Computer - Prioritized list of what I need to accomplish while at a computer (emails, virtual meetings, analysis, etc.)

2. Phone - Prioritized list of who I need to call or text with brief description of what needs to be accomplished

3. Person - Prioritized list of what I need to cover with a person while eyeball to eyeball **Particularly important for subjects too complex to cover by phone or email

Looking for more tools of this type? Try Getting Things Done by David Allen - Where I picked up this habit.

Stay Productive. 

Joe House