Anxiety is the fuel indicator on your dashboard

I look at anxiety now as just another indicator on my business dashboard (client satisfaction, revenue/profit, skill development, etc). When I start feeling some twinges inside about my pipeline being too thin, I know it’s just an indicator that I should be mindful of my business development and networking activities.

Mindful doesn’t mean frantic motion. It doesn’t mean I should suddenly book “power lunches” and send out emails soliciting business. Quite the contrary. It just means that I can’t exactly predict the next set of client engagements. And that’s okay. It’s not about reacting to the “fuel indicator” but rather just being aware that you have this feeling of anxiety.

Pitfall: The risk here is being completely unaware of the anxiety and what might be causing it. Just keep an eye out for early symptoms like restless sleep, sudden weight gain, and loss of concentration. Awareness is 90% of the battle here.

Business development is a process not an event

Okay, you say, but a fuel indicator is warning you that the car can’t go much farther without gas. I accept that. But I think it’s dangerous when fear is the motivator behind business development activities. Prospective clients and partners will see that coming a mile away.

I found it’s better just to keep a steady pace of business development activities that bears no relationship to your top line or pipeline. Business development should be a natural expression of who you are, and done out of a sincere desire to meet with people you enjoy and respect. It should just be part of your ongoing practice.

Pitfall: If you focus on your fear of not having business, you’ll come across as a sleazy sales person. Effective leaders focus on winning not avoiding loss, the so-called “Wallenda affect” named after the tightrope walker who had a long, daring career until his fatal walk when, for the first time, he focused on his fear of falling instead of on getting across the tight rope to the other side.

Plan for the risks

Anxiety is also reminding us of areas of risk in our life, areas over which we have little or no direct control. After our first child arrived, my wife and I quickly researched and bought life insurance. We felt a great sense of relief knowing that we were covered in the worst case scenario of one or both of us going prematurely. We’re now looking into disability insurance since disability is actually more probable than outright death. I give these as examples of actions we took to manage risks in our life that are beyond our control.

Similarly, the business world has things beyond our control as well such as the general economy. The question is how to plan for the unexpected like a quick downturn in business. One way we plan for this risk is to re-invest in the business, put aside money in case we encounter a short dry spell.

Pitfall: The risk here is not taking any action but freezing up. Theodore Roosevelt said it best by saying "In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

Focus on the present

There’s a great line in Star Wars Phantom Menace in which Qui-Gon Jinn (Jedi master) says to his apprentice “be mindful of the future but not at the expense of the present.” And so it works with anxiety. I find that if I stay focus on what I am doing, then I’m less likely to expend unproductive energy worrying about the future. Take, for instance, musicians, athletes, and sales people who all have a way of keeping their anxiety levels under check by staying focused on their daily processes and habits.

Pitfall: The danger here is abandoning your normal day-to-day business as you frenetically do sales calls hoping to build up a pipeline overnight. Just focus on today’s commitments. That will move you in the right direction.

I hope these tips prove useful to you. Over the years I’ve found that anxiety is as much a part of our lives as any other powerful emotion. The trick is to embrace it, own it, and guide it gently to your intended direction in business and in life in general.

Disclaimer: I recommend visiting the National Institute of Health website on treatments for general anxiety disorder if you think this might be a clinical issue.

Great post. Just added a reference on our IMC blog.

Posted by: Jeff Thompson | March 28, 2008 10:28 AM

Hi Sridhar

Just wanted to let you know how timely your article was for me here on the Sunshine Coast of Australia.

I developed a new form of yoga which mushroomed on the West Coast to Fifty centres. Feeling that we had saturated the West, we recently moved to the East Coast expecting the same full classes. Not taking into account twenty years of brand-building in WA and the trust of our students has been an education. Of course, it is just not a good look for a Yogi to be anxious!

Seeing the perfection in things as they are is easy when things are going well! Your article brought me back into this moment to appreciate the richness of life and the joys of going back to working with smaller classes.

Thank you,

Shambo

www.yoga.com.au

Posted by: Shambo | April 30, 2008 7:48 PM