Careful, Methodical, Intentional
We had a huge pine tree cut down in our yard last week. It was right next to our house so the guys removing this tree had to be extremely careful. Many of the big limbs hung out over our roof so I was a bit nervous as the process got under way. To give you some perspective as to how big this tree was, from the rings we counted on the remaining stump, we calculated it to be over 70 years old. So, just the limbs alone could do some serious damage.
I watched as the "climber" prepared to ascend this behemoth. From the ground he looked up, carefully surveying the tree. He seemed to be making a plan before he began climbing. After a few minutes, up the tree he went. As he came to each limb, he took a moment the think. He didn't just start cutting with no thought of where the limb would fall. His entire process was careful, methodical, and intentional. He didn't take a chainsaw to any limb without carefully considering what needed to be done in order to insure the falling limbs didn't fall on the roof, A/C unit, or our neighbors driveway.
As I sat there studying this guy and his approach, I thought to myself how important it is to pause, think, and plan when it comes to business. If you are anything like me, you find yourself with 25 hours of work to try to cram into every 24 hours. Pausing often seems to be a waste of precious moments when you could be getting things done. Proverbs 21:5 offers some wisdom that shows us the value of taking time to pause and plan.
"The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance and advantage, but everyone who acts in haste comes surely to poverty." (Proverbs 21:5 - AMP)
Planning leads to success. Failure to plan leads to failure in business. You've probably heard the saying "if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." That statement is filled with a powerful truth. When we are too busy to take time to pause and plan, our time management skills need some tweaking. It is so easy in business to run around doing all the things that need to be done today, that we take little time to consider tomorrow, next week, or next month. You can easily get trapped in a reactive posture where you are simply reacting to whatever comes your way. I've discovered that if I do not intentionally determine to get out of that cycle, then I will stay in that never ending loop. Sure, I'm getting tasks done but I'm not really moving forward at all. I'm just putting out fires, oiling the squeaky wheel, and wearing myself out. Long term projects get put on the shelf, goals fade out of sight, and business growth stagnates or worse begins to decline.
The reality is that if we do not become intentional about pausing to plan, we place major limits on our business ventures. It could end up being disastrous. If this man showed up to cut down this tree in my yard and just started cutting limbs with no forethought or plan, the result would have been disastrous. In the same way, if our approach to business is hasty and void of careful, methodical, and intentional planning, our business will never function as effectively as it could otherwise.
Tim is the lead pastor at Westlake Fellowship in Montgomery, TX. If you live in the area, join us on Sunday morning at 10:30am at 19786 Hwy 105 Suite 120 in Montgomery. Tim also leads Project 8 Eighteen, a ministry for men who are business owners.
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