Grace. More and more, this word pops up in my mind. I’ll skip Webster here and give you my definition: The ability to not knee-jerk, while giving someone a break. I think we all need grace these days.
I’m certain I’m not the only one getting multiple communications from multiple channels, many of them repetitive, over-lapping, some off the mark totally, and more really don’t have any relevance to you, your job, or your responsibilities. And many of us are working even more demanding jobs due to lay-offs, closings, and the loss of support in companies challenged by the same situation.
One of the first lessons I mentor new business owners through is the old domino stacking game. You’ve done a beautiful job setting up this amazing domino set, but touch just one… The point of this exercise is to know when you touch that domino, or that one, which other ones are going to fall, get nudged, and what will that cause?
As we’re faced with our C-19 world, the biggest challenge is the difficulty in even guessing what dominos we can’t even imagine will be in the path of the pieces we touch today. What do we do then? There isn’t a single guaranteed business plan in the world. And experienced business people know this. The question is your ability to put as much factual information in your plans as you can muster. Ask others in similar businesses for opinions. Find groups in social media with the same challenges. But the ultimate plan is the one you can live with. Everyone has different resources, pain point, threshold for financial pain, access to credit, labor, materials and more. So, ultimately, the decision is yours and yours alone.
I’d be stunned if there’s a single organization that had this pandemic in their plans going into 2020. Sometimes plans aren’t worth the paper they were printed on. So, now what?
Grace. It starts with giving it to yourself. Each of us can only do so much. Give yourself a break. At some point, you need to take a walk, talk to the parakeet, play with your kids, hug a significant other. And tomorrow you’re again fighting the good fight.
Grace. Give it away. Did you know it’s free? It takes a moment sometimes. Being patient, being kind, realizing that everyone else in this crisis has their own domino run that they are dealing with– chances are they don’t even realize it.
Grace. I really think we need to have it, so we can give it away. I encourage you this week to practice grace in all its forms. Go ahead. Try it now on someone you know, then later with the checkout clerk, a stranger.
And one other thing I encourage you to give away this week: your smile. I promise you’ll get one back.
If the Chamber can help your business, please contact our office. We’ll be happy to assist you in trying to navigate this maze!
-Grant Holmes, Executive Director
Botetourt County Chamber of Commerce
