Tuning Out as a Business Strategy

I have a confession to make. In the heart of the recession - I tuned out. Since managing one's attitude is the foundation of success (and sanity), I turned off tv in front of my desk. It stayed off for months! I didn't want to hear the relentless drumbeat of how bad things were from the 24-hour news channels. Similarly, I didn't want to engage in conversations with colleagues about the misery of trying to build business in such a tough economic environment. Yes, things were bad - no, we haven't seen things this bad in forever... yada yada. The impact of those kinds of comments is toxic when you're trying to figure out ways to make good things happen. Shutting out the noise let me manage my attitude and focus clearly on creating a successful strategy for conditions that were less than ideal (ok - big understatement there when we are talking about the recent downturn). Mind you, I did not stick my head in the sand - I simply chose to get my news when I wanted it - on the Internet or in print.

I was reminded about how sensible this strategy is as I was reading Geoff Colvin's The Upside of the Downturn. A bestseller written back when things were at their worst, the revised and updated edition of the book was released two weeks ago - updated with new information about what business leaders can do in unpredictable times to build their competitive advantage. Colvin urges business leaders to find some quiet time and rethink everything. He recaps some of ideas from the book in his Fortune blog this month - worth reading if you have the chance.

The idea of controlling attitude came home to me yesterday as I was watching Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees play baseball. He was really annoyed with an umpire's call - a pitch he felt should have been a ball was called a strike. As he stepped out of the batter's box - you could actually watch him clearing his mind and refocusing to shake off his disappointment. He stepped back up to bat and promptly went about his business of getting another hit. He wasn't about to let his emotions get in the way of the task at hand - helping his team by getting on base.

Yes, the business environment is still unpredictable. And yes, the upcoming presidential election is just another event that may impact the economic landscape for business - for better or worse. But life goes on no matter who wins the election in November. It's best to focus on what we can control and tune out the distractions. As a brilliant investor friend of mine says all the time - "there's always a bull market somewhere - I just need to find where it is." History says that those who have a good plan; those who have the best interests of the people they're serving at heart; those who don't focus on money, but focus on creating value - those are the folks who win big in unpredictable times like these.