Last Monday was the unofficial start of the “Summer” season in the northern part of the country. Temperatures have moved away from the cold, and more and more color is popping up from green grass to a multitude of brightly colored flowers. Just as the environment needs to have seasons of renewal, so do individuals and businesses.
If we look back just a few years ago, when the pandemic – COVID 19 impacted the world, we can see that those individuals and businesses that were in a weakened state during the start of the health challenges either did not survive or it took exceptional measures to pull them through. We might try to rationalize the loss of life and termination of businesses by tying these results with a once-in-a-lifetime set of sequences. The problem with using that type of illogical statement is that we never really know what lurks around the next corner.
When JKL Associates has the opportunity to engage with a new client, during the early phases of capturing the real situation and beginning to ask the tough questions of leadership, one of the items we eventually get to is the health of the primary leader and those leaders which are destined to have a significant contribution to moving the business to the next level. This is not to say that we do not have concerns for each and every person in the company and their health, but change happens when leadership is on board and assisting/enabling the team to improve. If leadership falters or is absent, then the rate of improvement gets sidetracked or slips away entirely.
We are so adamant about this that we have even sat in the executive office and made them contact their health provider and/or primary care physician and schedule an annual physical if they have not had one in the past 12 months. Why would we want to make such an investment of energy if, by the end, the leader of the place is not there to be part of it? Yes, it sounds harsh, and it is meant to be. Too often, leaders take their health for granted and defer on proper health screening. The next thing you know is that issues present themselves, and what originally was a simple fix is now a large one.
This same situation happens to businesses. If leaders are not doing business health screening on their company, then small issues, when not taken care of, grow into large problems that now take lots of time and money to fix. When the pandemic took place, those businesses entering that business cycle in a poor state of financial stability were hit extremely hard. Government assistance did help some of them float along for a period of time, but the damage, which had been done way before COVID-19 started, was now devastating. No level of life support was going to save the business.
We bring this up at this time of the year because many businesses and industries experience some level of slowdown during the summer months for many reasons. If you are in one of those seasonal industries where the summer is your big season then take the time during your slower season to health screen your business and yourself.
As leaders, we take time and put energy into planning the future success of our business. We need to begin to make sure part of the strategy includes both business and self-health investment of time and energy.
Did you just receive a wake-up call about the health of your business or yourself? Although JKL Associate Promise Guides are not specialists in personal health care, we do know it is a critical factor in your personal and business success. Taking your health for granted is just unacceptable. We have many years of looking at businesses and their stability to sustain tough times. Interested in having a conversation about the health of your business? Give us a call at MI (313) 527-7945 or FL (407) 984-7246.
COPYRIGHT – JKL ASSOCIATES 2024
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS – EMAIL US AT PARTNERS@JKLASSOCIATES.COM OR CALL OUR OFFICES – MI AT (313) 527-7945 FL AT (407) 984-7246
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