I'm a tortoise. I admit it. When it comes to new business ideas, I'm not generally a fast adopter. While other small business owners are quick to implement and incorporate ideas, I like to hang back and consider them.
In some ways, however, I'm more hare than tortoise. For instance, once the big decisions about my business are made I make ancillary decisions with the speed and precision of hare.
When it comes to adopting new ideas and making decisions for your business, are you more like Aesop's the tortoise or the hare? Are you speedy out of the gate or slow and steady to the end?
You're a Tortoise if . . .
• When you say you're going to do something, you do.
• You're steady and know how to pace yourself.
• You have tons of sustainable energy and can see things through.
• You like looking at things from different angles.
• Having to make a quick decision makes you feel pressured.
• Windows of opportunity sometimes pass you by because you wait too long to make up your mind.
• You do things when they both “feel right" and “think right." Not before.
• Hares bug you.
You're a Hare if . . .
• You're flexible and can maneuver nimbly in changing environments.
• You're spontaneous, adventurous, and like lots of variety in your life.
• You are great at generating ideas.
• Like starting up something.
• Having to stay focused on one thing makes you feel pressured.
• Have difficulty completing a project because you lose interest half way through.
• You implicitly trust your gut instincts and do things when they feel "right" to you.
• Tortoises bore you.
In today's business environment, we see evidence of both tortoise and hare decision-making processes going on -- Some business owners jump at anything while others are slow to consider. Nevertheless, given our current economic conditions, it will take the winning characteristics of both the tortoise and the hare to get things done this year.
We'll all be at our best when we find ways to combine the thoughtfulness, sustainability, and commitment of the tortoise with the adaptability, flexibility, and maneuverability of the hare.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know!
Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™
Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success
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