I was fortunate yesterday to have time alone in a room with a massive whiteboard, no interruptions and a view out to the sea to do some thinking and planning.
It was like a vacation being disconnected for those few hours.
At first it took time to shake off my own constraints on what business looks like. Once I’d done that, it was fun brainstorming by myself with only myself to make fun of. I wanted to do this in advance of some group planning sessions coming up, to clear my head and dream so dreams without constraints.
I appreciate it’s hard to find the time and opportunity in a small business newsagency for this type of personal thinking time. If there is any way to get it for yourself I say GO FOR IT! All I got was a few hours – the value will be worth far more than that.
Footnote: I’ve blurred the photo as this post is not about what I thought through but the process itself.
Mark, lucky you -you obviously don’t have 6 kids, 6 inlaw kids and 9 grandchildren plus a business to run.
I can tell you that the only way I can get
a “quiet time” is going to be the “permanent quiet time” and I don’t
think I’m quite ready for that.
Good luck to you and thank goodness we
have you to do some of that thinking for all of us.
I drive 30 mins each way between home and work, 10 mins thru a forest and 20 minutes on a highway. With beautiful scenery, very little traffic on either road, and no one in the car with me this is my quiet time for thinking and planning.
June you have to put all those grand children and what ever inlaw kids might be to good use and work for you to give you time away . Free labour you can’t beat it 🙂
Jenny I like the sound of that.
Shaun you’re obviously not a Papa yet?
Today’s grandchildren know exactly how
much pay they are getting and I have 3 who now work for me at weekends (14,15 and 17) and they all vie for the Sunday hours so that they will get double time.
It’s quite funny really, because they are not siblings (cousins) and the rivalry is very apparent.
As for their parents well they all worked for me at some time during the past 35 years and they have all left for greener pastures and I’m very glad they have – not because I didn’t love having my family work in the family business but because they are now all doing much better than me (which is what all parents want to see)
Well said June – which is what all parents want to see – no ‘parenting’ manual just a lot of time and effort but a lot of SATISFACTION. With 3 girls – 15,18,20 – ‘moulding’ them into doing things better than we did, I have learnt that I have to always keep the ‘left up’ at all times as the ‘moulding shines through’!!!
Russell we have 6 children and 9 grandchildren and we have been newsagents for 35 years so our kids have grown up (and all worked) for us at some time either during school or uni.
When I think that Newsagency is in the doldrums I give thanks that during our children’s early years they had the “advantage” of working as news boys and girls in the city (our first newsagency was in the CBD) and when we are all together they talk about the things they learned and they constantly tell both Tom and me that they wouldn’t trade those days for anything and that it has given them the drive they have today.
Our oldest daughter didn’t go to uni straight from school but at 47 she has just completed her degree and we couldn’t be prouder.
So, sometimes the good is a little bit different from what we have envisaged,
and I am finding as I am getting older that
it isn’t all to do with my business.
My “other” life is far more important in the
scheme of things.