What motivates people with their natural differences in thought, skill, passion to put their time and energies into the same enterprise at different stages of their life?
Amazingly I have come across some order to this constant cycle we all grow through. The natural flow of things like the seasons, Spring round through to Winter, before the new Spring again.
Understanding this flow can make unraveling our own paths at lot easier, because we can work with it instead of against it. We can actually understand were we are now in relation to what season whatever we are picking our way through is at, and we can even look ahead with relative certainty to the phase of the next season in cycle.
For example, everything starts with an Idea - The Spring Phase - this is the "What". In the salon industry the "What" might be the idea to have our own salon business. Spring energy is creative energy, so we form our idea around what kind of brand we would create our salon business to be. What will it look like, how will I furnish it, light it, theme it. What product ranges will I carry, what services will I offer, what will I call it.
Following Spring comes The Summer Phase - this is the "Who". This is the realisation that I cant turn my idea into a working success on my own. I need a team, I need partnerships. I need the differences others will bring. I need others to be attracted to my idea and help me take it to the next level. Of course I need clients, so who will they be? Who am I targeting my idea too?
Summer gives way to The Autumn Phase - this is the "When". Its all about the timing. Is it really the right time to set up my own shop? Did another chain just open in the same area? Are people moving out of my village at an unsustainable rate at present? Am I planning to extend the family in the near future? Is there too much of a shortage of qualified professionals to attract the size team I need? Is tax about to rise? Is my intended business partner about to go through a divorce? or could the timing not be better... Your current boss is offering you a stake in the business with the view of helping you into buying it out. The current owner wants to open a second location with you as a partner. The local council has begun a rejuvenation of the areas surrounding the high street, promising an increase of trade where you can pickup a good lease.
The Winter Phase - is about the "How". Its about proving the robustness of the business. Ensuring positive cash-flow that can weather any season. By this stage the business isn't just proof of concept, its matured into an operational system that can be consistently duplicated, tested, measured and improved further still, whilst taking advantage of each team members differences and strengths.
That's where Spring can shine through again, as fresh ideas are tried and implemented to allow a new growth phase. This may lead to a change in team roles and responsibilities (a new summer phase), which could lead to a time to expand or consolidate (the next autumn) and so on through the natural order of things.
Understanding this flow can help us not to work on unpicking to wrong knot for what stage we are actually in and save us a lot of wasted time and resource.
Amazingly I have come across some order to this constant cycle we all grow through. The natural flow of things like the seasons, Spring round through to Winter, before the new Spring again.
Understanding this flow can make unraveling our own paths at lot easier, because we can work with it instead of against it. We can actually understand were we are now in relation to what season whatever we are picking our way through is at, and we can even look ahead with relative certainty to the phase of the next season in cycle.For example, everything starts with an Idea - The Spring Phase - this is the "What". In the salon industry the "What" might be the idea to have our own salon business. Spring energy is creative energy, so we form our idea around what kind of brand we would create our salon business to be. What will it look like, how will I furnish it, light it, theme it. What product ranges will I carry, what services will I offer, what will I call it.
Following Spring comes The Summer Phase - this is the "Who". This is the realisation that I cant turn my idea into a working success on my own. I need a team, I need partnerships. I need the differences others will bring. I need others to be attracted to my idea and help me take it to the next level. Of course I need clients, so who will they be? Who am I targeting my idea too?
Summer gives way to The Autumn Phase - this is the "When". Its all about the timing. Is it really the right time to set up my own shop? Did another chain just open in the same area? Are people moving out of my village at an unsustainable rate at present? Am I planning to extend the family in the near future? Is there too much of a shortage of qualified professionals to attract the size team I need? Is tax about to rise? Is my intended business partner about to go through a divorce? or could the timing not be better... Your current boss is offering you a stake in the business with the view of helping you into buying it out. The current owner wants to open a second location with you as a partner. The local council has begun a rejuvenation of the areas surrounding the high street, promising an increase of trade where you can pickup a good lease.
The Winter Phase - is about the "How". Its about proving the robustness of the business. Ensuring positive cash-flow that can weather any season. By this stage the business isn't just proof of concept, its matured into an operational system that can be consistently duplicated, tested, measured and improved further still, whilst taking advantage of each team members differences and strengths.
That's where Spring can shine through again, as fresh ideas are tried and implemented to allow a new growth phase. This may lead to a change in team roles and responsibilities (a new summer phase), which could lead to a time to expand or consolidate (the next autumn) and so on through the natural order of things.
Understanding this flow can help us not to work on unpicking to wrong knot for what stage we are actually in and save us a lot of wasted time and resource.
