Hello Reader,
We've spent the last few weeks on two habits. Checking your cash weekly, so problems surface early. Protecting time for what matters, so priorities don't get buried. Here's a real example of what happens when both of those habits are missing, and when they're not.
During the global financial crisis, I was given the job of visiting every client in our practice and helping them get through it. What I found wasn't one story. It was two very different ones, playing out side by side.
The first was the most common. Owners who decided there was no point taking action until conditions improved. They waited, hoped, and rode it out. Many came through the other side smaller and more stressed than before.
The second group did something different. They looked hard at their numbers early, had direct conversations with customers and suppliers, and made small, deliberate decisions every week instead of one big reactive decision too late. Those businesses came through leaner, and often grew faster once conditions improved.
Same crisis. Completely different outcomes. The difference wasn't luck. It was whether the business had a weekly habit of checking its numbers and adjusting its plan, instead of only reacting once things became serious. The businesses that came through best were doing exactly what we've covered these last few weeks, watching their cash closely, and using that information to steer the plan, not just record what happened.
That's the whole idea behind the Business Planning Operating System. Cash tells you where you stand. A weekly plan review tells you what to do about it. Neither one works well without the other.
You don't need a crisis to start this habit.
Pick one part of your business that feels uncertain right now. This week, make one small decision about it. Not the whole answer. Just one step.
Waiting isn't neutral. It's still a decision, usually the more expensive one.
Talk soon,
Paul Sweeney
Chartered Accountant & Business Advisor
