One of the side effects of the Covid 19 shutdown is the interruption of improvement efforts. It's hard to get excited about scaling and growing if external factors are shifting you into the mindset of preserving and surviving. It's tough to feel a sense of urgency when it seems that every week involves a warning about keeping your head down to endure another round.
What if we were to think of your scaling efforts, your mission, as a rocket launch?
Your rocket is at the pad, secured for now to a supporting structure. You're checking everything to make sure all indicators are a "go", and then you start your countdown. Ultimately your flight plan, your team, and your brain are in launch mode - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - ignition, and suddenly....
Whoa, whoa, whoa! There's smoke, and I see flames! Something might blow up!
The temptation during a launch, or during the storming phase when people are hoping the change you're trying to implement will just go away, is to ease off of the fuel. Nobody (well, except maybe pyros and 4 year olds) likes fire and smoke. Some of us are downright afraid of it. What if the rocket blows up?
Counter to some instincts, when you are launching and see flames and smoke, goose it! To get the rocket off the ground you need more fuel, not less. Once the rocket is in orbit, it requires far less fuel to maintain its path than it did to get off the ground.
The Covid pause in businesses has created the need for a re-launch of many things that were just starting to get off the ground. The rocket might need some repairs, and that is slowing you down. You might have to check your flight plan and start the countdown all over again. But if you are determined to launch, you need fuel. You need more, not less, to overcome the inertia from several months of slowdown. You need more focus, not less, to rebuild your book of business. You need more accountability, not less, to move projects forward on a timeline that meets your budget.
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