Comments on: Reflection verus Reaction

By: Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:28:36 +0000

I am completely a slave to the ‘urgent’ as well - the ‘ding’ of a new email, the chime of a text message or the anxiety that builds when I don’t quickly return a phone call.

You are completely right about the fact that we are trained, as entrepreneurs, to be reactive, quick moving and uber responsive (lest we lose a sale, hurt our brand or fail to respond quickly enough to garner praise and the all-important buzz).

I have a very hard time finding quiet time in my week to be reflective and just sit. Last month’s ‘Octane’ suggested 10 minutes of meditation per day would make anyone a better leader and entrepreneur. Right now, I do my reflection in monthly and quarterly chunks - what went right, what was a success, what needs improvement and how can I do corrective action for areas I was weak in.

Those contemplation periods are helpful and interesting but it’s going to take a while to unwind myself down from the stress of 2009 to feel like I have the luxury to do them more often than once a month.

Great post; thanks for sharing your revelation with us.

By: Organic SEO Consultant

Organic SEO Consultant — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:36:31 +0000

Great insights and I can relate to your feelings of having to attend to things immediately. I need to focus more on family and other things because those things are just as big a part of success as the business side.

By: John Wilde

John Wilde — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:33:10 +0000

Great piece Andy. Being an entrepreneur and running your own business requires a huge amount of focus and reaction to everything which is going on - but you are right - there must be time for reflection, and a realisation of what is really important in life…

By: Morgan Lean

Morgan Lean — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:38:56 +0000

I agree with this Blog post, 2009 was to put it bluntly brutal and insane. I have a US partner company that I’m dealing with and about 9 staff, plus board, plus potential capital providers.

Its hard sometimes but I found a way which works for me. Rather than respond right away, I write a response then edit it after about 30 minutes before sending. Its still very timely but it gives you a chance to reflect on what you are really trying to say.

By: Steve Hirsch

Steve Hirsch — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:03:27 +0000

Nice article, Andy! I think there are people who excel at either reflection/strategy or execution, and far fewer who excel at both.

By: Purposeinc

Purposeinc — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:53:45 +0000

I love my beach and alone driving time, or just going for long walks. Let the data sort out, and find the real reason why.

Happy New Year Andy, and Happy New Year to all of our co-friends who read this!