Recently I visited Calgary, Alberta, Canada on business. To
facilitate a 3 day business requirements session for a client with a focus on the
business and stakeholder needs to solve a particular business challenge.
I decided to drive. It was a lovely 15.5 hours there and 13 hours 
back. I guess I wanted to be home again. Since I drove I took a few extra days, brought my mountain bike and headed for the hills. Calgary has many trails to mountain bike and hill sides with beautiful views. I was interested to see how the landscaped changed. A year early I was in Calgary when the heavens opened and the rain poured down creating a huge flood.
back. I guess I wanted to be home again. Since I drove I took a few extra days, brought my mountain bike and headed for the hills. Calgary has many trails to mountain bike and hill sides with beautiful views. I was interested to see how the landscaped changed. A year early I was in Calgary when the heavens opened and the rain poured down creating a huge flood.
From the hill top where I stood, in Fish Creek Park, you could see where the river runs through it. It had changed course. You see, a year earlier, on that same hill side, where I stood, in the valley below, you could see a meandering river and an island with plush trees. It was now gone. The river had changed course. It shifted to the right.
There are many things we can learn from our surroundings about business. At this very moment three things came to mind.
- There are things outside of our control that will impact our lives and business. Sometimes we have to go with the flow.
- That business meanders like a great river and often our course is changed by outside forces. So we adjust to the new circumstances and re-focus our efforts, and
- When a new course is set and there are opportunities that we can embrace. The key is to remain open to what is presented.
Sometimes we come to a point in our business where things have changed. This particular week the business leaders and their teams I was working with realized that an external force changed the course of their business. The only option was to embrace their new reality, adjust their course and follow a new flow. A river runs through our businesses and when things change we need to change with them.
Question of the Week:
What has changed in your business that needs you to review your circumstances and re-focus your efforts?
