ALL CONTENT AND PHOTOS WRITTEN AND SUBMITTED BY NIALA RAMKALLAWAN
The alarming COVID-19 Pandemic continues to be a major concern impacting the health and safety of the global populace, leaving in its path a wake of unpredictability, creating volatility in businesses and threatening the very core of economies. On the corporate front, several Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises face ambiguity and insecurity as essential trading, travel bans, changeable economic conditions and challenging financial affairs have produced rippling effects.
Fighting to remain afloat amidst turbulent conditions, the ability to earn income, get foreign exchange, acquire new prospects, forge new stakeholder relationships, maintain supply and distribution channels, ensure operational efficiency, and secure financial backing are just a handful of pressing concerns, among others. As Entrepreneurs keep abreast of the financial and economic landscape locally, regionally and internationally, numerous business owners have opted to reduce consumption of their resources being directly or indirectly utilised to ensure their business’ continuity and survival.
The decision to not waste any resources, especially one as precious as TIME, these industry pioneers, visionaries, business moguls, game changers, trendsetters and budding entrepreneurs designate set time periods during quarantine for awareness, introspection, insight and reflection.
Quick Question: When you hear ‘Introspection’ what do think without delay?
Do your thoughts shift to your business, relationships, finances or strictly managing yourself?
There is no specific option for the question posed, as only YOU know where your thoughts lie or what they gravitate towards. The question may also elicit additional responses other than those I’ve presented. Your own responses may trigger further reactions and that’s even better. In a nutshell, this indicates that you are attentive to problem areas, sensitive situations or unforeseen changes in your business environment that need addressing.
Many Entrepreneurs are not aware of the fact that Introspection and Reflection are actually Small Business Management Tools. The availability of such tools ensures that one can utilize both and capitalise on several benefits to ensure the sustainability is ongoing within your business, thereby making NOW the ideal time to employ this tool.
First, we focus on Introspection, which by definition refers to “the examination and attention to your own ideas, thoughts and feelings” (The Cambridge Dictionary).
Here’s a ‘How To’ Guide for INTROSPECTION
Step 1
Let’s have a look at all your Goals. These may cover your Long-Term and Short-Term Goals; your 2020 Goals; Personal and Business Goals; or those categorically set such as Financial Goals, Relationships Goals, Continuous Learning Goals, Health & Fitness Goals, etc.
Step 2
After carefully examining your Goals, compare your actual performance to the said goals. For efficiency and to make timely decisions, I would recommend this be done quarterly (every 3 months), but there’s also the option to do Introspection semi-annually or yearly. Monthly Introspection can seem a bit overwhelming and there’s not enough data for comparison, unless compared against a specific period, for instance April 2020 vs. April 2019. Whatever you decide based on your schedule, ensure Introspection is done at set intervals or periods quarterly, semi-annually and so on.
Step 3
Now we categorise each comparison into What worked? or What Didn’t Work? If for some reason, you cannot clearly place in a category, feel free to make a side note. I usually just jot down ‘Partially Worked’, ‘Completely Worked’ or ‘Need to Rework’. This knowledge will help bridge the gap between determining which approach can be used again or which ones should never be repeated for yourself or whatever scope it is used in.
Step 4
Then there’s the Why? So Why did it work? or Why didn’t it work? Also, be mindful, you can add a further category for an Improvement or Recommendation (i.e. It would work, if I did..) and a Rejection or Substitution (i.e. Next time, I should try..).
Step 5
Having the right attitude is equally important, and from time to time we take for granted little opportunities and successes without even giving it a second thought. At this point, you now determine What am I grateful for? (No matter the circumstance or outcome, always think you did best with what was required at that time. Quite often, we forget that personal, physical, mental or even relationship setbacks can affect our business directly or indirectly. So for this step, I ask you to ‘be kind to yourself’ and don’t be your harshest critic.)
Step 6
Store your analysis, notes and synopsis for the period examined in a safe, convenient and accessible way. It’s really important that you maintain documentation when performing an Introspection, either a paper trail, electronic storage or via audio notes to record proactive measures, as well as, implement new ones.
Step 7
When Introspection is done, follow-up with Reflections.
Second, we examine Reflections which I encourage you to complete daily or weekly as they allow you to quickly pinpoint your shortcomings or shortfalls and work on them, to avoid a recurrence and also take preemptive action.
Stress-free Steps for REFLECTION
1. Simply allocate 10 minutes of your day to note, the “WHAT”:
What process didn’t work?
What solution didn’t work?
What caused that breakdown in my relationship with suppliers?
What can I do to better improve the way I communicate?
What can I do or implement in order to avoid a repeat of this?
What should I have done for damage control?
2. Now engage your experience and learning to help address the issue.
If for some reason, you can’t come up with a solution of your own, think of a way, approach or strategy, try something different. Think in a capacity that you are helping your best friend or their business. If someone asked me to help them with these issues, what advice would I give to them?
3. It’s perfectly OK to think outside the box. That box strategy is so limited and outdated anyway, just toss it out. It’s okay to get help from a relative, expert, specialised institution or even via the internet. Get online and type in your problem. By our very nature as Entrepreneurs, as though it’s instinctual to be an Information Seeker: to ask questions, come up with solutions, put proactive measures in place, pioneer change or re-engineer processes. It’s also ingrained within us to be forward thinking in such a unique, transformational way as to make things better today for a brighter, flourishing and progressive tomorrow.
Weekly Challenge: Let’s get started on Introspection and a tad bit of Reflections.
I assure you if Introspection is practiced quarterly in your business and you engage in Reflections daily or weekly, you’ll be amazed at how your mind will think critically and strategically pinpoint solutions for ‘Working Smarter’ as opposed to ‘Working Harder’. This little change will increase your efficiency, output and allow for a smoother flow and consumption of resources used by you, an Entrepreneur and in the realm of business.
Remember this exercise needs an adequate allocation of time to be completed and can in no way whatsoever be rushed. Many times, we tend to forget that even though we need to work IN our business, similarly significant that we also work ON it.
On that note, I remind you that the combination of working IN our business, the day-to-day running partnered with working ON our businesses through Introspection and Reflection are critical to making yourself and business environment conducive to continuous improvement, success, thriving and sustainability.
I pray that you ladies and gents are keeping safe and in good health as we continue our efforts to exercise extreme caution and safety at this time. Let’s keep abreast of COVID-19 updates and adhere to recommended guidelines as they are in place to preserve our lives and the lives of those around us to ensure we live to enjoy yet another promising day.
Sources:
https://twitter.com/harrishsairaman/status/1110398551962644480
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/introspection
https://www.idlehearts.com/2473824/in-your-lifes-defining-moments-there-are-two-choices-you-either https://me.me/i/often-the-best-gift-you-can-give-yourself-is-time-15826319
About Niala
I am a Freelance MSE & Social Media Advisor, the Owner/Founder of Gia’s Creative Studio and YBTT Mentor/Advisor providing ‘Insights from a Creative Entrepreneur’ on transformational leadership, strategy, forging a legacy, motivation and success.
Niala Ramkallawan, MBA, BSc.
You can find me on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/niala-r-71b12742/
YBTT - https://ybcaribbean.skysthelimit.org/volunteer-profile/15317
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/giascreativestudio/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/giascreativestudio.868/
