Big Red Car here. Turning out to be a great day here in the ATX. Sorry to be always bragging but, Hell, it’s true. And, you know it, right?
So The Boss gets a phone call from one of his CEO clients — the fellow is feeling a bit of pressure and declares himself to be a bit frazzled. WTF — frazzled?
Charm school grad?
So, The Boss, who at times can fail to demonstrate that he is a charm school grad — honor grad really? Haha, Big Red Car, you crack yourself up, don’t you. The Boss is not a charm school grad, sometimes.
So The Boss tells the plaintive CEO — welcome to the real world, pal. Building a company is hard and dusty and dangerous work.
This CEO, in particular, whip smart and wicked clever, is running a great business in which the challenges are big because the company is experiencing hyper growth because the company and the CEO have been executing at a very high level. The CEO is doing a great job.
Hard truths
Success is both tasty and challenging. When you are successful, particularly if an element of the success is a bit of hyper growth — well, it is a good problem to have but it is a bit frazzling in the process. It is normal to feel that way.
If you are being pressed hard, a bit of stress is a normal reaction.
So what is one to do?
Push back
When feeling a bit frazzled, take a deep breath and think for a minute and catalog all the areas of challenge. Make a list.
The Big Red Car has told you many times to read The Checklist Manifesto <<< link here which espouses the virtue of making checklists to enhance process development and performance. Sometimes relief is just that simple.
Catalog all of the challenges.
Prioritize the challenges.
Go back to basics and solve them one by one by one.
Deal with them one by one
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Deal with each of your issues one by one by one.
The Big Red Car preaches that many challenges are derivative of the organization chart — growing the business requires adding bayonet strength which means hiring people. Look to the org chart as a tool to visualize, manage and control growth while remembering to be lean, nimble and agile.
But stop beating yourself up — being frazzled comes with the territory. Take a deep breath. Exhale. Deal with it. Everything is going to be OK.
But, hey, what the Hell do I know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.
