Business owners, for your sake and that of your company's, please stop bouncing around from one idea to another, one project to another, one fire-drill to another. While it's common and entertaining for kids and pets to chase "shiny new objects", it can be disastrous for business owners to do the same.
By jumping around like a hyperactive dog chasing anything that moves or looks new, you end up driving yourself and your employees crazy. If you are always chasing shiny objects or leaping to new things, you can't make real progress...very good existing ideas, projects and strategies simply don't get driven to full implementation and completion...what a shame! Without full implementation, you don't get full results.
Also, while we're at it, please stop chasing the business practice or management strategy "flavor of the week or month." Stop looking for the silver bullet and magic cure. Bottom line, constantly chasing new ideas and shiny objects will yield too much chaos, complexity, confusion, and craziness in your organization. Right now, times are crazy enough; don't complicate business management with a lack of focus, priorities and discipline.
As your virtual business coach, please understand, I'm not saying don't experiment, innovate, or search for new strategies and ideas. What I am saying is to keep things in balance and be sure you have fully implemented the old, good ideas and strategies before you reactively jump to new ideas and shiny objects. If not, you will never see good ideas through to completion and see real results.
As a business coach, I'm not certain of the fascination owners have with "all things new". Personally, I like to drive existing ideas and projects to completion to see the actual results. However, many owners want to mysteriously move on to new ideas, projects and strategies before the old ones have even been implemented. It seems to be a habit similar to "channel surfacing" with a remote control or buying new clothes or shoes when you have plenty of them already.
Though they are hurting the organization by chasing "new things", most owners truly think they are helping. They are naively searching for the quick fix, silver bullet, magic cure, panacea, and super solution. They don't realize that a good idea fully implemented today is far more valuable than a great idea partially or never implemented tomorrow.
After 17 years of coaching, I have concluded that many owners like to chase shiny new things because they don't like to be held accountable for the old things not fully implemented. By jumping around, they are simply running away from accountability. This also sets a bad example for their employees. They too feel that they can jump to new tasks, new projects, and new responsibilities without being held accountable for results. Sadly, a culture of excuses seems to develop instead of a culture of results. Employees end up majoring in minor things. They mistake busyness with accomplishments. A culture develops that lacks focus, discipline, and real follow-through and execution.
At The Growth Coach, we don't allow owners to spin their wheels, jump around and chase shiny objects ... we get them to be focused, strategic and effective. Our coaching process provides the on-going structure, discipline and accountability so that important things get implemented and completed...that's what produces real results. You can't keep jumping to the flavor of the day, week or month and make any real progress...on-going coaching, accountability, and complete implementation of existing ideas, strategies, projects, and goals are what truly drive results.
Do not allow yourself or your employees to jump to the next new thing without completing the last thing.
Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America