Not long ago I surrendered myself to a hospital to have a major surgery on my right leg. I use that word “surrender” deliberately, because that’s exactly what one has to do to survive what’s going to happen next. I had my right knee replaced with a prosthetic titanium knee, my kneecap augmented with prosthetic materials, and my entire leg realigned.
Having a total knee replacement is a brutal, harsh surgery. My entire leg is purple and green from the ankle to the upper thigh and the pain is tremendous, even with painkillers. I honestly wouldn’t wish this type of surgery on my worst enemy.
Or would I? Being physically realigned is sudden and ferocious but it does facilitate instant massive change. You have no option to go back to what was. It is severed and gone, no longer a part of you. Your only option is to move forward and learn to walk, sit, stand, and move in a completely new way.
Surrendering to realignment means you give in, completely, to what might come out of the “surgery” so to speak. And sometimes, I argue, that can be a very good thing for a business to do. I believe that many small business owners need a realignment in their business, but refuse to surrender themselves to the process (the surgery).
How do you know your business needs a realignment? Here are seven sure signs (you only need one of them!).
- Your sales are falling.
- It’s harder and harder to engage existing customers, you don’t have much new to offer them.
- It’s costing you more money to find new customers (prospecting costs more).
- You are avoiding critical elements like marketing because you are too busy spending time on administrative tasks.
- You feel desperate or bored.
- You have a vague sense that your market is changing but are bewildered about how to figure it out.
- Staff are apathetic, or have a so-so attitude.
Most small business owners will either sigh and accept the less than ideal sales or other conditions, or else begin to make tiny, incremental changes around the edges of the business that are chosen because they are relatively pain free. My experience in working with my clients is that this timid amount of change doesn’t make much difference and in fact can create more apathy, fear, and distress.
As the business owner you may resist surrendering to what really will give you more freedom. We tend to avoid things like:
- Firing staff who are not fully on board, using the excuse that it’s too hard to find decent help.
- Committing to our marketing plan and carrying out every single aspect of it, without fail, no matter how “busy” we are.
- Stopping offers of products or services that are not very popular or profitable.
- Asking for help from a peer or coaching group because we are not willing to carry through with their recommendations.
Like me, you may be putting off the surrender to surgery until it is almost too late to help. Instead of your ability to walk, what’s on the line is your ability to make money and stay in business. If you find yourself or your business suffering from one or more of the “needs realignment” signs I listed above, please seriously consider surrendering to realigning what is not working and getting back on track. In the end, after a time of adjustment, you and your business will be stronger, last longer, and be more profitable and fun.
Katherine C. H. E. says
November 10, 2012 at 6:42 pmGreat analogy, Sue! I love the way you are turning your experience into teaching Gold!! Love, Katherine.
GetOrganizedWithCarmen says
October 31, 2012 at 5:10 pmI am totally squeamish-ing out with your picture! 🙂 I’m very proud of you for being so brave, and you have given me a great reminder that it’s time to clean house with team and products. Thanks, Sue!
Sue Painter says
October 31, 2012 at 5:23 pmLOL Carmen, you think it squeams YOU out?? Me, too!!!! 🙂
Lisa Manyon says
October 29, 2012 at 10:15 amSue,
This is such a SOLID list of signs that something needs to change in business and I think if we’re all honest with ourselves we’ll find that we’ve experiences at least a few of these signs .
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Write on!~
Lisa Manyon
Sue Painter says
October 29, 2012 at 10:49 amHi Lisa,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, if you have been in business very long, you will have experienced at least one of these, for sure!
Sue
Mitch Tublin says
October 28, 2012 at 8:02 pmSue,
Wishing you a speedy recovery. Sometimes I think business owners would select the knee surgery if it actually was a solution to their business problems.
Sue Painter says
October 28, 2012 at 8:24 pmWell, Mitch, I don’t know about that, ha!
Sue
Mary Ellen Miller says
October 25, 2012 at 6:38 pmSue you are so brave! I have heard that the operation you had is extremely painful! How thoughtful of you to “make lemons out of lemonade” and share our knowledge with others in need of a re-alignment.
Sue Painter says
October 25, 2012 at 8:15 pmMary Ellen, it’s a bitch, LOL!
Susan Thetford says
October 25, 2012 at 6:24 pmSue
That is such a great analogy-surrendering to the inevitable if you want to move forward. You always hit the nail on the head.
I wish you a speedy recovery. I, too, am recovering from an extensive abdominal surgery and remember clearly walking into the hospital on the 5th of this month feeling perfectly fine and thinking how odd it is to willingly go for pain!
The easy choices are rarely the correct choices. Thank you for drawing the parallel.
Susan
Sue Painter says
October 25, 2012 at 8:16 pmHi Susan,
Wishing you SPEEDY recovery.
Sue
Heidi says
October 25, 2012 at 4:34 pmSue you are a masterful marketer, a wise lady and I hope a swift healer!
Sue Painter says
October 25, 2012 at 4:58 pmThanks so much, Heidi. 🙂
Paula says
October 25, 2012 at 2:42 pmAs someone who now has a rod and screws in her leg, I totally can relate. And I love your use of the term surrender, because it is still a choice…a choice to let go and move forward.
Kudos for doing it for your knee…and for helping your clients do it in their businesses…
No matter how painful. 🙂
Sue Painter says
October 25, 2012 at 4:59 pmThanks, Paula. Yes, surrender IS the word.
Sue
Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist says
October 25, 2012 at 2:21 pmSue
Brutal words but powerful and a good wake up call. The 7 signs are excellent! this one resonates with me: You are avoiding critical elements like marketing because you are too busy spending time on administrative tasks
PS hope you’re recovering and using arnica and other wonderful natural inflammatories to heal quickly – is that your knee?
Trudy
Sue Painter says
October 25, 2012 at 2:29 pmHi Trudy,
No, that’s not a picture of my own knee, but the pictures of mine look about like that. And yes, I need those natural anti-inflammatories, for sure!
Sue
Tiffany deSilva says
October 25, 2012 at 1:57 pmSue, I love your ability to see the business lessons in life–even a total knee replacement. Who would have imagined there is a correlation? But there definitely is. You are right on point. I’ve noticed with many of the business owners I have worked with, that it is often difficult to remove the familiar and realign things even when they aren’t working well anymore. It really is a process of surrendering.
Sue Painter says
October 25, 2012 at 2:28 pmThanks, Tiffany. I bet you and I have seen much the same in clients over the years.
Sue