Our part of the country has been enjoying warm weather for the past few weeks. We have enjoyed the beautiful flowers, and the trees are beginning to show their new growth. Everything is green and lovely.
So, this past weekend, my husband and I decided to do a little sprucing up around the yard, particularly in some beds with shrubs and flowers. As we went out to lay down some pine straw, I was overwhelmed by the large number of weeds that were growing in our yard., and among our shrubbery. Somehow I had overlooked them until I got “up close and personal.”
Now, many people tell me they enjoy working in the yard in the spring, but I am not among them. Laying down a few bales of pine straw is my idea of a full summer’s work as far as the yard is concerned. But it was impossible to lay down the pine straw until we first cleaned out the beds. Without the weeding, the shrubs were in danger of being overtaken and lost among the variety of weeds and other unsightly things growing heartily in the beds.
After a few hours of bending over and pulling weeds, my mind began to wander and I started thinking about an analogy of pulling out the weeds in our business. Over the winter, we have let a few things slip, and they need attention or they will choke out our productivity.
After reviewing our business plan, it became apparent that we had not updated it in several months. Circumstances change; businesses change; therefore our business plan needs a periodic review and updating. Okay, that was one weed that was hindering our prosperity. Another was the need to fine-tune our vision. Another weed pulled. More space for growing the things we want to grow.
Goals – of course these had to be adapted to reflect our updates in our and vision statement. Then we looked at our way of doing things. New e-mail laws and new SPAM software had made parts of our email plan obsolete so we redesigned those parts that were not working. Our company had changed some things that we need to see reflected in our goals and plans.
On and on, bending over, pulling up weeds, making sure they were pulled up by the roots so they wouldn’t just spring up again in a few weeks. Only after we had pulled all the weeds was the garden ready for its fresh spring look and new bed of pine straw. Once we finished and stood out in the street to admire our work, we realized how much better, neater and more efficient our entire front yard looked. What an improvement! Just from pulling up the weeds and cleaning up the beds.
What kind of weeds do you have in your business? What habits are you engaged in that no longer work? What changes and adjustments do you need to make in your goals, plans and business methods? Shake out the dust, pull the weeds; it is time for a fresh look at your business. Keep what is working; get rid of what isn’t, and be wise in making those decisions.
How many weeds do you need to get rid of? What is hindering your business from being the very best it can be? What is standing in the way of your being the very best you can be. Spring is a traditional time of year for new growth. Your business is no different. There is no better time than today to get started on the weeding.
Jan Wallen is a Personal/Professional Coach who enjoys
helping other people achieve their goals and maximize
their potential. To subscribe to her success news letter,
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