Many of you will have vague memories of a childhood story called "The Goose That Laid Golden Eggs".
The story basically goes like this: There was a poor farmer and his wife who were very short of money and were unable to feed their large family. It was a desperate situation and if something did not change soon, they were all going to stave. One day a miraculous thing happened: the farmer found a golden egg laid by his goose. There was much celebration and the farmer took the egg to market and traded it for some food for his family. They had enough food for months!
Each day the farmer would check to see if there were any more eggs and often he would find another egg laid by the wonderful Golden Goose. They now no longer had to worry about food as they had a good collection of eggs, and could even afford a few extras. They were becoming wealthy. The farmer started thinking - he wondered how many more eggs his Golden Goose had in her. So he grabbed a knife and killed the goose to see what was inside. To his shock and horror there were no eggs inside and his prized goose was dead. He never found another golden egg again.
The moral of the story is "Don't kill your Golden Goose!"
So, what is the Golden Goose in your business?
What are the vital things you need to be looking after this year in your business? - the things that give you good income, good profit, that you rely on - and if lost, would plunge you and your business into crisis mode...
It might be one or more of these things:
We all have more than one Golden Goose, but remember that if the Golden Goose stops laying golden eggs (your income), then you are in real trouble.
So look after your Golden Goose's - as they are the future for you and your business.
Action Point: Take a few minutes and write down your Golden Goose's. Then beside each one, write what you will do to feed and keep them in top condition for this year. In the next week make sure you feed each of your Golden Goose's, and commit to this for the rest of the year.
The story basically goes like this: There was a poor farmer and his wife who were very short of money and were unable to feed their large family. It was a desperate situation and if something did not change soon, they were all going to stave. One day a miraculous thing happened: the farmer found a golden egg laid by his goose. There was much celebration and the farmer took the egg to market and traded it for some food for his family. They had enough food for months!
Each day the farmer would check to see if there were any more eggs and often he would find another egg laid by the wonderful Golden Goose. They now no longer had to worry about food as they had a good collection of eggs, and could even afford a few extras. They were becoming wealthy. The farmer started thinking - he wondered how many more eggs his Golden Goose had in her. So he grabbed a knife and killed the goose to see what was inside. To his shock and horror there were no eggs inside and his prized goose was dead. He never found another golden egg again.
The moral of the story is "Don't kill your Golden Goose!"
So, what is the Golden Goose in your business?
What are the vital things you need to be looking after this year in your business? - the things that give you good income, good profit, that you rely on - and if lost, would plunge you and your business into crisis mode...
It might be one or more of these things:
- Your best machinery that you are running at maximum capacity but not regularly maintaining.
- Your best employees who are working longer hours than they should without a break, recognition or reward.
- Your best customers that need care and attention so they stick around for a long time to come.
- Your bank balance/cashflow that needs attention so that you can pay everyone and not be under undue stress from the bank and creditors.
- Your health if you have not kept yourself in good shape (especially if your business relies heavily on you).
- And of course, Your family who are perhaps the reason you work so hard - but they hardly ever see you because you are working longer hours than you need to. It is important to invest regularly into your key relationships. Because a crisis in this area will, without doubt, affect your business.
We all have more than one Golden Goose, but remember that if the Golden Goose stops laying golden eggs (your income), then you are in real trouble.
So look after your Golden Goose's - as they are the future for you and your business.
Action Point: Take a few minutes and write down your Golden Goose's. Then beside each one, write what you will do to feed and keep them in top condition for this year. In the next week make sure you feed each of your Golden Goose's, and commit to this for the rest of the year.
Like this? Subscribe to receive new monthly articles by email.