Okay so I know that sounds crazy but bear with me. When my daughter was little we started using the phrase, “Oh look, there’s a chicken”. So here is the scenario. You are walking along on your way somewhere and suddenly someone has gone off on a tangent because they saw something interesting. Now you must redirect them to get back on track. We call that something interesting a “chicken”. It just as if the person was super focused and then saw a chicken walk by off to the side in a place a chicken wouldn’t normally be. Of course, they would exclaim, “Oh look, there’s a chicken!”
Now translate that to your business. You are moving along the course you have set to achieve your goals. You are focused on what needs to be done and where you want to go. Then someone gives you a “great idea” and off you go in that direction. The problem is that you are distracted by the “great idea” or “the chicken” so to speak and you don’t stop to assess if it will fit into your course. And most of the time that lack of evaluation can lead to a lot of wasted time and resources on “great ideas” that don’t really fit what you are trying to do.
Okay, but how do you avoid “chickens” and still not miss out on the ideas that truly are great for your business and what you are trying to do? Here are a few questions to ask that will help you stop and evaluate each idea. I’m not talking about detailed analysis just some simple questions.
Stay on course and remember that sometimes that idea someone had is a “great” one, for someone else, and most of the time it is just a “chicken” for you.
By: Amy Matthews, CEO, AMI
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