Last August, my wife and I took our oldest two granddaughters on a vacation to Aruba; the trip was immediately after my annual visit to my cardiologist.  Feeling like a beached whale and knowing I was going to die sooner if I didn’t lose weight, I was suddenly motivated.  I had a sense of urgency to change my course and ensure future vacations with my grandchildren.  Therefore, on August 23, 2009, I started on a journey.  At 5’7” and 246 lbs, my vision was to get down to 180, a weight I hadn’t seen since before I retired from the US Air Force over 25 years ago.

During this journey I have discovered a process that directly applies to running a business.  Here is what I have learned.

(Official disclaimer: I am not a professional dietician or nutritionist, so my diet plan may not be the path you should take, but it is working for me.)

First, create a vision.  My vision is to weigh 180 pounds.  I wanted my vision to be a challenge – something I really needed to strive to achieve. 

Tell others about your vision. 

Frequently, business owners have a vision of where they want to take the business, but fail to share it with the people who can help them make it happen, such as employees or clients.  By telling others, this solidifies your commitment to do what it takes to make your vision a reality. 

However, it’s important to recognize that telling others about your vision does not make them responsible for its accomplishment.  You might expect support and encouragement from them, but don’t expect others to take responsibility for your success.  They should not become your spending or sales conscience – or your food police. You must take overall responsibility for your actions, which then allows you to take full credit for your successes.

Define success and reward yourself. 

Success can be ambiguous and different for every individual.  You have established your vision but you should also have milestones along the way to celebrate and keep you motivated.  For some businesses it may take years or even decades to accomplish their vision.  On a diet, remember that it took you a long time to put on the weight.  You cannot expect overnight results.  For me, I celebrate every 10 pounds I lose with a new article of clothing, or an indulgent meal or dessert.  For your business, you could celebrate certain revenue levels or sales targets on the path to achieving your vision.

Expect incremental improvement. 

Growing your business – and dieting – is not the lottery, there are no overnight winners.  It takes time and hard work.  All too often we want it now, and if we don’t get instant gratification we quit.  Not many things in life that are worth accomplishing come without effort.  And if they do, we generally don’t appreciate them.  Remember the tortoise and the hare?   The slow steady progress in the right direction will get us to the finish line.

Monitor and measure regularly. 

I weigh in every day or at least every other day, which allows me to make corrections if I’m going off course.  Measuring is an area that has several things you must keep in mind.  First, measuring should be easy.  If it is not part of your daily routine, and you have to take inordinate steps to obtain the measurements, there is a good chance you’ll stop measuring.  Second, measure consistently.  I get on the scale first thing in the morning.  This allows me to compare apples to apples.  In business, the way we measure often has us comparing apples and oranges.  We measure at different times of the day, or different shifts, or different times of the year.  Adding variables to the mix can make comparisons faulty or impossible.  Third, when you measure, make sure you take into account all of the other things that could be impacted.  For example, if you measure punctuality but not attendance, you could see punctuality improve because that is what you are focused on, but attendance could get worse because it is not being measured.

The journey will continue next blog post, stay tuned to see if I reached my goal and get more insight on the similarities between business and dieting.

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