ARE PROFITS LIKE POTTERY?

Comments 1 by in Money, Profits, Strategy
May 12, 2015
ARE PROFITS LIKE POTTERY?

“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.”

― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

They may seem completely unrelated and of different worlds, but in both business and pottery you need good tools and a clear plan to create spectacular results. I put as much thought into how I make a bowl as how I conduct a business transaction. Both involve joy, balance and a lack of mental clutter (simplicity).  If you’ve ever done pottery you know that one false move – a product of trying to push the results without focus and a solid plan – turns a bowl into a muddled blob.

So, too, with business. It’s essential that every business makes a profit, yet every business needs a solid plan, the right tools and simplicity. Professional potters make a nice profit by the way, believe me.  I’ve never met one who isn’t joyous, and while they work their minds are extraordinarily free of clutter.

There is so much clutter in most businesses, so many complicated barriers to profit that we place in front of ourselves like hurdles in a race. To simplify and still make a robust profit, adhere to these three simple guidelines:

  1. Have clarity, focus and a good strategy (don’t be vague, but courageous).
  2. Ensure that all business efforts and resources align with measureable goals and the overall strategy.
  3. Position the right people in the right jobs and make them accountable for results.

The guidelines for profits remind me of pottery.  I love to make pottery – both wheel thrown and hand-built.  Each piece is unique and shows the intention, creativity and effort of the potter.  I’m a pottery novice yet as I improve, some things have become clear. When making a piece of pottery, just as in business, you must do the following or it will fail altogether.

$  Plan what you intend to create.  Create a step by step clear plan for each step of the process (cutting and kneading the block of clay, rolling it out, building, throwing or sculpting the clay into the approximate shape, then trimming, refining, drying, decorating, firing, glazing, and firing again). Ensure that your strategy has a step by step plan with goals and metrics to achieve your strategy and drive profits.

$  Make sure that all your efforts, tools and resources align with your goals and strategy for your work.  Every step a potter takes affects the success of the piece.  If I don’t have my clay at the right stage of dryness, my tools in place, my skills intact and my focus on the wheel, the piece will almost instantly melt into a formless blob. In business all your efforts and resources must align with measureable goals and the overall strategy.  You have to be sure that every action (including every communication, strategy, agreement, meeting, planning time, travel, sales effort, etc.) fits into your overall plan and effectively contributes to measurable goals.

$  Have the right person creating the work and be accountable for the finished product.  If you want an exquisite piece of pottery you need a skilled potter.  If you have a particular style or outcome in mind, you need a potter who has experience in that milieu. Learn from such experts in business. If you want to make big profits you must have the right people assigned to each task or goal in your plan and hold them accountable for measurable results within a specified time frame.  A professional potter gives you a design, a time frame and predictable, if not guaranteed results.

Finally, Peter Turla (an internationally acclaimed authority on time-management techniques to work smarter, not harder, author, speaker, and former NASA rocket designer) reminds us “Don’t spend a dollar’s worth of time on a ten cent decision.” You can’t make two pots at once and you can’t focus on multiple goals simultaneously in any given moment.  Focus on the task at hand, use your time wisely and add the bells and whistles later. A potter concentrates on the foundation of the piece and adds decoration afterward.  When deciding what to do next, always evaluate the value of how you (and those who work with you) spend precious time in a step-by-step process that adds one piece at a time to a strategy for huge profits.

As you know by now, I strongly believe that simplicity, profits and joy are the three pillars of business success. Each supports the other.  Greater simplicity and joy drive profits. Better results generate simplicity and joy. Don’t ever discount joy. You may believe that joy and huge profits are incongruous. If so, just think of every successful billionaire entrepreneur you can. They all started with what they loved. If you choose joy, the profits will follow.  Richard Branson is joyous in every business venture he starts.  His businesses generate billions in profits.

I doubt you woke up today and said to yourself (and to potential investors): ‘I think I’ll start a business that has no vision or goals, unhappy employees and will not make a profit. I won’t be happy either. We will all be stressed out by too many tasks, poor processes, information overload and lack of alignment with our values.’  Yet that is exactly how many organizations operate.  As a friend of mine says “If they knew better they would do better.”  Be a potter.

My wish for you is that you begin to drive towards abundant business and personal profits starting right now. Please share your thoughts about profits.

Robin L. Moncrieff

CLEAR FOCUS STRATEGY
Founder and Lead Strategist

Copyright 2015 – All rights reserved

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