I wanted to share valuable insights in the spirit of creating momentum in your business. In a few steps, you can gain time, work more efficiently, and focus on the highly leveraged tasks that will move your business forward. Let me share the Golden Triangle of business.
Let me go into a brief history lesson for some context.
Back in 2013, I had big goals to scale the agency business. I hit my first £80k revenue month that year. I had been there before at 50k, 60k but I would start fizzling out. I’d find myself sliding down the icy hill that I had only just pushed that walrus up.
It was almost as if I had a default thermostat but instead of heat, it was sales and revenue.
What did I do?
What I usually do when I’m on slippery slopes. Typically I revert to the eternal learner in me. I double down on reading books, going to seminars, webinars, and seeking out coaches and advisors. It was about this time I spent nearly six figures on coaching from great people such as Tony Robbins and I was studying for an MBA.
I’m glad I have this propulsion to learn. There’s this famous quote:
we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them
I knew that I couldn’t keep climbing that hill to my upper limit and slide down it yet again, I was exhausted.
In all my learning and seeking out knoweldge, I started to notice something.
There were key themes from all the gurus around “find your why”, “operate in your zone of genius,” “maximise, optimise and systematise” and “learn the art of delegation.”
One of the books I read was called, “Your Money Or Your Life”. There was an exercise to look at where you’re spending your time and to calculate your hourly rate. The Pareto Rule came as a big shock as I was spending 80% of my time on low-level tasks, things I didn’t enjoy. With only 20% of my time on things that produced an ROE (return on energy).
What a numpty.
After I got my sh** together and started focusing on highly leveraged activities I won contracts with huge brands and won our first six-figure retainer.
I could go on and I don't mean to share those revenue figures to brag but to paint of picture of what was happening with what I learned was called "an upper limit problem." (There's more on this in the book The Big Leap).
The Golden Triangle of Business
This is a summary of what I’ve learned (I’ve just saved you 1000s of hours of reading and a fortune on seminars).
Self-Coaching Exercise
Here’s a self-coaching exercise you can do to get you in the sweet spot of that triangle.
Record the tasks you’re doing in your business for at least a week and the time spent.
Where are you spending the most time - categorise your tasks.
Do those activities give you energy or drain your energy? Are they in your zone of genius?
How are you doing in terms of the triangle, can you score yourself 1 to 10 for each?
How aligned are your activities to your goals, your vision and your purpose?
What should you be doing less of and more of instead?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re spending far too much time on important and urgent-important tasks (I love using the Eisenhower Matrix as a tool).
As a business owner, you want to be spending more time on the things that no one is asking you to do.
In other words, the highly leveraged activities that will grow your business.
Of course, one of the obstacles with running a business is that sometimes we’re forced to get involved in the day-to-day. To deal with staff performance issues, an unhappy client, and deal with whatever dumpster bursts into flames. I’m a realist and I get that. However, the key is to make sure that we’re not bogged down too much by the “little stuff”.
I truly believe that being a business owner is one of the greatest teachers of personal development.
To keep growing we have to do more things that give us energy. Spend more and more time doing things in our ‘zone of genius’. And do more things that get us to the next level, if you’re not growing you’re dying.
Can you use this triangle to ask better questions, to coach yourself, and lead yourself to more freedom, growth, and spaciousness?
Your time is your most valuable asset, use it well.
