A colleague and I were looking to collaborate. It’s really cool when that happens. You connect; take a liking to someone, what they do and how they do it. Instinctively you look for ways to align and ultimately recognize you’d make a great collaborative team.
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It usually goes something like this:
Colleague: You know we work really well together.
You: Absolutely, we should collaborate.
Colleague: Let’s have a discussion and see what we can come up with.
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Enter phone conference/meeting number 1. Random ideas are thrown around. You like some. You toss others.
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Colleague: These are great ideas. Let’s review everything and connect again in a week.
You: Sounds great.
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Enter phone conference/meeting number 2. More random thoughts are thrown around and then things become more specific.
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You: Everything looks good. Let’s do a bit more research and figure out our next steps.
Colleague: Sounds great. Let’s reconnect in another week.
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And so it goes. If all goes well you and your colleague are now onto a wonderful collaborative idea, a win-win combination for the both of you.
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Except . . . you step back and now have a realization. You already have too much on your plate or well, let’s say the plate is full and adding anything else really would be more than enough. Somehow you now recognize that while a collaboration is a good idea, it’s not exactly what you need to be doing right now. Ewwww! It Happens! Particularly with entrepreneurs who are natural creators.
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In my workshop, Developing Your 90 Day Action Plan, I talk about the difference between opportunities and distractions and how to tell the difference. There will always be opportunities that will be presented and available to you, but sometimes they can be more of a distraction.The key is to know and understand the difference.
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The way to move beyond that is to keep your plan in front of you and to stay focused. Sometimes you will have to relinquish certain opportunities to make sure you’re following through with your goals.
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Does this mean you should ignore great opportunities? Absolutely not! But you do have to recognize when you are moving into or away from the goals and vision at hand.
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Sometimes it’s just a matter of timing. If you find that you have somehow veered off path, it’s not too late to get back on track. Just take a moment to revisit where you are and where you want to go. Now ask yourself if the action at hand is getting you closer or further. Make your decision from there.
Biz Practitioner
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