Lesson #21
How to Keep Lethargy at Bay . . . Or Why Time Is Your Most Precious Resource
One of the most treacherous inhibitors of success—as I mentioned previously—is inertia. This is especially true once a new company is up and running. After enduring the exhausting process of getting the doors opened, it's easy for one to succumb and quickly become fat, dumb, and happy. Certainly, after the trauma of making it through the early stages, actually getting a business going should garner a major celebration. The goal, however, is to temper the celebration with the reality that this is merely the first step to success.
Building a business is a series of wins and losses, and the occasional painful setbacks. In fact, during the early stages, a few carefully orchestrated hindrances and minor failures can provide an important wake-up call to the team that reminds them that the company is not invincible. As the leader, you must try to keep your team from taking winning for granted. It is important to have a certain tension within every organization that occasionally keeps team members up at night. This restlessness can be an important catalyst for a 3 AM eureka moment, when you're suddenly awakened with a thought that maybe you should have done this or that, or you worry that the team forgot to consider a critical point. Since this prevents complacency, it can be healthy—because complacency tends to breed lethargy. And lethargy is one of an entrepreneur's biggest foes.
The best method ...
