From my home office, I can look out and see my garden. It’s loaded with wonderful, Beautiful Veggies and sometimes terrible sights of weeds trying to take over, sights that mirror much I find in many of our work at home companies out there today. Weeds have taken over many patches of dirt, despite the fact that I have gone over them with a hoe.
What I must do to get my garden to get in shape, to make it world class and ready for the helpful eye of my father in law, is exactly what every leader must do: seed, feed, and weed. How I perform seeding, feeding, and weeding depends upon the season, the unexpected turns of nature, and the makeup of my garden. Walk with me today through my garden and you’ll see the analogies for our work world today. I recently discovered an article that spoke of gardening and leadership. I know I felt the same way at first. How is that connected? But once I began to read the article and connect the dots, I discovered the key.
There are 7 things to do when trying to get a garden to grow.
· Consider the "Season".
· Watch for trends.
· Give credence to the unexpected and control what you can control.
· Plant seeds and give space to the sowers.
· Feed different plants differently.
· Weeding is backbreaking work.
· Take time to stop and smell the roses.
1. Let’s consider the "season". In today’s global economy, it would appear that there is no season, anything that distinguishes night from day. Grow, grow. Sell, sell. But the smart leader watches the sky, reads the clouds, and the moons and even their almanac and can tell when there are shifts to indicate a new season. Bring products to market at the wrong time or introduce an idea without understanding timing and the "garden" can quickly resemble a piece of scorched earth. Every day more and more people are looking for a better, healthier, safer alternative in their life. A garden or Home Based Business is now in one out of every two hundred and thirty households. And what does that mean to us? This is our season: the season of wellness; the season of change; the season of health.
2. Let’s watch for "trends". You are always looking to better your veggie garden in differ ways of improving your soil and cutting down on the weeds so you are looking in to magazines or newspapers or even online articles or the help of a fellow gardener. Our trend here is the health and wellness and better soil and veggies with each other in our work at home community. The best place for us to discover who, what, when, where, why and how is in the Leadership within our community in which we share every month. The Eve Venture Community talks with the old and new in our business who are reaching their goals, and they tell us how they became successful. Read & Listen to their stories and implement their success into your own business anywhere you can. Just like with any garden.
3. Give credence to the "unexpected and control what you can control". The weather that not only raised havoc with my veggies but spawned dangerous storms and opposing droughts throughout the world is an example of our helplessness to control some of our environment. The same thing is true in business. A green thumb leader takes all possible precautions and then remains flexible and ready for the unexpected. In like fashion, my corner of my barn has all the tools, sprays, and plant potions for probable surprises. I will use the example of needing new Business Partners to reach my goals. What would happen if you helped eight Business partners and then stopped there? Would you stay there long? Of course not because even though WE can see the benefits and values in this business, not everyone is as smart as us. =) Life happens as well sometimes. In my own business I was rolling. Helping Business partners every month and then something I thought I had prepared for happened: my beautiful grand daughter was born. But I could never have guessed how this would affect my business, and how dramatically it would change my goals and the length of time that it was now going to take for me to reach my goals. If I had better anticipated the changes my new grand baby was going to bring to not only my family but also my business, I would not have seen the negative effects in my business that I did. I had my home and family ready for her, but I forgot to plan my business. So make sure that you always have a backup plan in place in your business and that way when something does happen, you will be secure in the knowledge that all will be within your plans when you return.
4. Plant seeds and give space to the sowers. A green thumb leader knows that it is only through dialogue that ideas can sprout and take root. Instead of jealously guarding "my ideas, my client, my territory", a leader with an eye toward growing a garden takes no ownership but rather seeks to find which seeds have merit. Like the biblical passage, some seeds will whither on rocks or find little moisture in shallow soil. But others will be carried to places where they flourish. Plant seeds. A green thumb leader knows that the word team does not begin with the letter I. So if you are trying something new and feel it is very effective in helping you to manage your business. Plant the seed for the rest of your team. Offer your knowledge to theirs, and they will do the same. In doing this, you will find your whole team is successful not just the ones doing things in their own way instead of working as a team. Plus you will continue to build a solid team that relies on each other and reduce the workload for everyone.
Give space to the sowers. When newcomers bring ideas as they join, do not throw them out because "that is not how we do things here." Listen to what they are saying and take it to heart. That is part of the beauty of the Eve Venture. Everyone’s voice IS heard.
5. Feed different plants differently. Not every plant is fed the same thing, yet all plants must eat. A green thumb leader understands the truism that "nothing is so unequal as the equal treatment of unequal’s". Just as each voice has its own unique sonogram, each employee, associate, stakeholder needs a unique blend of "food". For some, it’s "numbers". "Give me numbers and I thrive." For many, it’s the opportunity to learn and advance in knowledge. For others, it’s the engaging nature of the work itself that offers fulfillment. One size does not fit all. Like in Our Business, Not all People learn in the same fashion or speed. Yet they all need to be taught. So make sure that you are treating each one to bring out his or her own natural abilities. Everyone is good at something. Find what their pace is and go with it, by fighting their natural abilities, you will only make things harder for yourself and your new Business Partner. Remember Eve Venture offers everyone the equal opportunity.
6. Weeding is backbreaking work. Hoeing alone will not suffice. It was not enough to turn over the soil and think that I had emptied my garden of the weeds. In fact, because I didn’t bend over and get close enough to the ground, I picked up only the surface "weeds". What I really had managed to do was to churn the stronger ones into a hiding place where they surfaced stronger and more invasive then ever. A green thumb leader hates this part of the task. It means fact-finding, Accountability, and time. Not everything that is "green" belongs in my garden. Not every associate belongs with you. In fact, working less with Business Partners at times can also be the healthiest long-term fertilizer for a vibrant business.
As we all know not everyone that says "Oh yeah, I want to make twenty thousand a month!" is willing to work for it. Also, not everyone that wants to join the business will be a good addition to your team. I have fought and struggled with this one. It is very difficult when you find someone that you know will do well, "if only" they would do the work. But you have got to learn to weed these people out of your business. I am not telling you to enroll someone and drop him or her like a hot potato. But during the interview process take time to listen to what they are saying. For instance if someone told me, "I need to make money NOW, and I do not have time to build a business, but I want to work Eve Venture." I would simply tell them that this is not get rich quick. "Maybe this is not the business for you. What we do is increase our paycheck through residual income, which is done over time. So it may take you a year or more to reach your target income of four thousand dollars a month—even longer if you only want to work ten hours a week."
The same principal should be applied to what I call Downers. If you are on the phone with someone and all they seem to do is tell you how terrible things are and how difficult it is for them, how do you feel when you end that call? Disgusted, discouraged? Do you want to feel that way every time you talk to that team member? No. So point that negativity out to them (in a nice way of course) then if it does not change, work with your mentor to find a solution that will be best for your team.
7. Take time to stop and smell the roses. I can get so overwhelmed with the "work" of my garden that I forget sometimes why I planted it. Just sitting by the side of the garden, watching my father in laws delight when I show him what I have accomplished, or smelling the fragrance in the evening are all the reminders I need. Why have you planted your "garden"? Are there people who delight in the work of your hands? What is the aroma that lingers after you have turned off the lights for the night?
It is not hard in this business to get so overwhelmed with the day-to-day activities that we forget that we are working to better our lives. If you do not take time out to be with your family or spend sometime on yourself, what is the point? Your family will begin to resent your new career and so will you. Learn to celebrate life and incorporate it into your business. This will ensure that you will have a happy and well-rounded family and Eve Venture business.
Thank you for taking a Walk with me through my garden here’s wishing green thumbs for all of us.
