maria Zampini \u2014 April 1, 2013<\/p>\n

\nWhen it comes to your ability to react, are you a tugboat that doesn\u2019t do anything until prodded, a speedboat that reacts quickly, or a steamship that takes forever to come around?<\/p>\n

Decisions, decision, decisions. Some days it can feel like you\u2019re being attacked from all angles. But if you waffle \u2013 not choosing to go left or right, or to say yes or no \u2013 you\u2019re still making a decision: Your choice is indecision. So if you\u2019re standing in the middle of the road and you can\u2019t decide which side of the street to cross over to, don\u2019t be surprised when you get run over by that bus.<\/p>\n

The Jewish philosopher Maimonides said, \u201cThe risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.\u201d And one quality that successful business people have in common is decisiveness. Not being able to make a decision is a liability that can directly affect the bottom line. Is your business so stable that you can afford to take an economic hit each time you fail to make a decision?<\/p>\n

When you do make up your mind, you need to relish your successes \u2013 but don\u2019t rest upon your laurels. More importantly, however, you need to acknowledge your failures. Certainly one needs to own his or her mistakes and not take the cowardly way out by blaming others. You need to learn from your missteps. Winston Churchill once said, \u201cSuccess is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tend to make decisions quickly, one way or the other, based on my gut instinct. However, I can look back on my career and remember the exact times I neglected to make a decision when it was necessary. Unfortunately the decisions that needed to be made were critical to the future of my business, but I waffled. They were hard decisions, but ones that potentially could have had a more positive affect on the final outcome. I learned the hard way what Pablo Picasso said: \u201cAction is the foundational key to all success.\u201d<\/p>\n

In business, it\u2019s better to be proactive instead of reactive. But because we dance with the devil better known as Mother Nature, we have no alternative but to react, and react quickly, when she tosses a challenge our way.<\/p>\n

When it comes to your ability to react, are you a tugboat that doesn\u2019t do anything until prodded, a speedboat that reacts quickly, or a steamship that takes forever to come around? No matter how you cut it, the fact of the matter is that the majority of our business is done in the spring. And we have only so many weeks to do it in. If you can\u2019t adjust quickly to changing circumstances, well, as they say, once the water has gone over the dam, you can\u2019t push it back the other direction. What\u2019s done is done and trying to make up those lost sales, overspending on production supplies or inventory, excess labor costs \u2013 whatever \u2013 is twice as hard in the remaining down time of the year.<\/p>\n

One way to compensate for the unexpected is to go into spring having your act together. It\u2019s that dreaded four letter word: plan. I\u2019ve said it once and I\u2019ll say it again: \u201cFail to plan and plan to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n

I used to beat myself up all the time over what I coulda\/shoulda\/woulda done, but didn\u2019t. Boy, talk about getting nowhere fast! You can\u2019t dwell on the past because you can\u2019t change it. Just like history though, you need to be sure you learn from it and don\u2019t repeat it.<\/p>\n

In my own experience, I found that once I let go of the past, only then could I truly move forward. And with that realization, I found I viewed new professional challenges as even greater opportunities. I\u2019d like to believe what David Brinkley said, \u201cA successful man [or in my case woman] is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m wondering if life is like the story of the Three Little Pigs: Some of us build our business out of straw, others use twigs and still others use bricks. If we\u2019re smart, though, we\u2019ve thought ahead, drawn up a blueprint, consulted colleagues and have a structure that can withstand the strong winds of the Big Bad Wolf.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m betting on bricks.<\/p>\n

Maria Zampini is the president of UpShoot LLC. Her company\u2019s focus is \u201cliving, sharing and supporting horticulture\u201d through new plant introduction representation including LCN Selections. She can be reached at [email protected], and her website is www.upshoothort.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

maria Zampini \u2014 April 1, 2013 When it comes to your ability to react, are you a tugboat that doesn\u2019t do anything until prodded, a speedboat that reacts quickly, or a steamship that takes forever to come around? Decisions, decision, decisions. Some days it can feel like you\u2019re being attacked from all angles. But if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nursery"],"yoast_head":"\n