I get a great sense of delight in hearing the words “you are on the right track”. It makes me think of a wonderful adventure I took a few years ago with my mother (90 years old and still game for something new) on the back roads of the Western Cape. We had visited the annual Namaqua flower spectacular at the West Coast National Park and as we stopped at a little pop-up coffee shop for some tea and cake, a small side road caught my eye. Always one for the road less travelled I asked the woman behind the counter if that road went to Springbok. Her answer was: “Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”
We set off and an hour later, having passed through many small farm gates I was relieved to see a sign that was so faded we had to exit the car to read it. It was the first real indication that this road was going somewhere… but with no mention of Springbok.
As we drove on, I began to get a little anxious about our fuel supply and that we had not passed a single vehicle but when asked by my somewhat nervous partner if I knew where I was going, I confidently replied: Oh yes! All farm roads join up, and if we just follow the telephone lines, we are sure to get to the main road.”
And then the road split, the telephone wires veered off in the wrong direction and the road deteriorated into not much more than a riverbed.
Just as I was starting to seriously worry about the red light on the fuel gauge, I looked up to see a bridge in the distance, which to my relief was an on-ramp onto the N7, proving that we were “on the right track”. My mother cheered from the back of the car and we arrived in Springbok feeling as though we had just won the annual Paris-Dakar race!
Entrepreneurs will recognise their journey of leadership in this story – those times when their decisions were guided by intuition and faith, and how despite the questioning from naysayers and backseat drivers they used the strength of their convictions to keep following the road they had chosen.
Business owners know when to keep going and when to turn aside, they sense when they are right and when a different strategy is needed – it’s all part of the adventure of business leadership and perhaps the essence of life too!
So, this month’s title “On the right track” is a reminder to take comfort in the signs and wisdom that we can learn from our environment, from others and from our own learning journey.
In this month’s fabulous edition, you will learn how to survive the rollercoaster journey of entrepreneurship, innovative ways to reduce business costs and increase profit, as well as how to start a business, the lean way.
There is also an excellent article on how leaders can build stronger corporate cultures to survive crises, and a book that will help you just get things done.
We know just what you need to get your business on track so that you can overcome any hurdle in the months to come.
If you would like to share how you got your business on track, email us: [email protected]
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