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Just over a month ago, my wife and I welcomed our new baby girl into the world. Being our first child, I was a bit nervous about how I would be able to balance my new responsibilities considering the expansive personal growth we’ve experienced over the past several months. Our company has been achieving its most successful stretch with steady year-over-year improvement and we recently brought on 5 new staff members to support our growth. While I was nervous about balancing both my personal responsibilities with my professional ambitions, contrary to what I would have expected, this past month has been one of the most productive for me in recent memory. Believe it or not, I am not alone on this as many people thrive in their business and increase productivity after the birth of a child. This is primarily caused by the acute focus and attention newborns require; it is almost as if this concentration has a trickle-down effect into other areas of our lives. Yes, this past month has been challenging but I’ve also grown a lot; here are a few things my newborn taught me about growing a business.
Practice Patience
Benjamin Franklin says it best: “He that can have patience can have what he will”. While the idea of being patient is great, this has always been an area where I’ve experienced massive flaws. I always want things to get done as soon as possible often without thinking through the entire process. Plagued with a natural tendency to quickly evaluate circumstances as they are arising, I have often made decisions without fully considering all risks, challenges and potential associated outcomes. A few years ago, my publishing company, Mutual Digital Publishing, had a record-setting year. We almost doubled the previous year’s revenue and increased our client partnerships to an all-time high mark. In my haste to scale and grow even quicker, I made a few terrible hires and ended up setting the company back. We wasted a ton of time and money while leaving a few interpersonal relationships in disrepair. Taking care of my little girl has taught me the value of analyzing before acting to ensure that I make the best decision for my child as well as my family.
Master Time Management
For years I thought that time management was the idea of saving and spending a certain allotment of time; almost regarding time as a form of currency. While that can fundamentally be viewed as true, the idea of managing time is flawed and the true form of this principle is found in managing yourself. When you become a parent for the first time, you will quickly learn that every minute of the day must be assigned; there is simply not a moment for inefficiency. Infants typically need to be fed every 2-3 hours, which will naturally break your day into short increments where there are very few gaps to complete daily tasks. You will find that you can batch your must-do projects into chunks of laser-focused work sessions that will effectively allow you to be more productive.
Focus on the Long Game
It can be easy to get short-sighted and lose focus on the bigger picture but successful companies know that focusing on the long game ensures agility and longevity. In 1975, Kodak released the first Charge-coupled device digital camera but was so focused on short-term profit coming from the film side of the business that it completely missed the digital revolution and failed to pivot and launch a digital camera until 2001. This also happened to be the year that debuted the first camera phone. Needless to say, cellphones have become the preferred mode of generating digital photography and Kodak ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2012. Having a newborn dramatically alters your daily routine, wrecks your sleep pattern and can even have an affect your relationship with your spouse, it is important to remember to remain steadfast and understand that this temporal seasons of life will be highly beneficial in the long-term. Shift your focus from what is happening in the present to what will happen in the future. Excite your spouse by discussing future plans, hopes, goals, and trips that you plan to take with the newest addition to your family.
It is OK to Make Mistakes
As a new parent, you are going to make mistakes. There will be times when you feel incapable, incompetent and quite frankly, like a complete failure. Building a new business is hard and while there are many challenges and pitfalls along the way, never doubt your ability to achieve success. When feelings of doubt try to overcome you, shift your mindset and fight back! Being a new parent has taught me that it is ok to make mistakes. As long as you commit to course-correction and continuous improvement, you will progress over time. While there are no perfect parents as well as no perfect businesses, the commitment to becoming the best in your respective industry can exceed any shortcoming that tries to come in the way of your success.
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