Timing in Business is not just about owning a watch...

This a subject matter that is very close to my heart. It has been due to the phenomena of 'correct timing' that I find myself with my gorgeous fiancé, and on my way to creative freedom. I say on my way... because even though I am supporting myself financially in my business, the ever present lure of contractual work still remains as one of my 'get out' strategies. I try not to think about that too much though.

OK. You want to know about timing, that's why you are here right? Well we all know what it physically stands for, and I'm sure that you have heard sportsmen and sportswoman constantly reiterate the importance of 'timing' to enhance the levels of their success. Whether it's a golfer who states that its ALLL about the timing of you swing, or a pro footballer who insists that timing forms the basis of good form. The amount of circumstantial evidence out there is enough to get you thinking. Admit it, proper timing seems to permeate through to everything!

My opinion is that proper timing can be measured in scales. If we were to look upon good timing is as simple as arriving for an interview or meeting on time - then the actual 'time' part of the equation is not as important as say the planning. For example; you need to be at an interview at 10:30am, therefore you have to be up and out of bed at a certain time, catch the right bus etc.. Planning is key. When there is a particularly busy traffic morning and you wake up a shade late - it all boils down to whether you can make it through that door on time. So all that well considered planning gets condensed down into a solitary moment in time. Did you make it on time?

A scaled up example of 'timing' could be the same type used by 'say' golfers. When a ball is driven from the tee - the body is acting in a very instinctive way. Muscle memory and relaxation guides the club face to the right spot on the ball at the right speed for that particular shot. Timing. Many different factors stack up behind the action of taking that shot and all of it depends upon you getting the process correct. Again though, the timing of the shot pales into insignificance when compared to the preparation of your body and mind many years before hand. You would have under gone years of training in golf OR experienced similar sports so that your body and mind work towards one solitary goal - condensed into that one single instant of time...

Other examples of timing in action include singing and public speaking. The skill and knowledge which goes into producing the right sound at the right time is incredibly important. Being able to perform well and influence the emotions of the audience is all about understanding who it is you are speaking to, and even more importantly, an understanding as to why they are there listening to you in the first place. To be entertained? To have fun? To criticise? To learn? Timing the right performance is crucial to success and it involves interrupting the crowds mood and/or enticing the crowd  to feel how you feel. An absolute art form which many good practitioners seem to have an innate instinct for.

It can be seen from above that effective timing is crucially linked to and programmed into your mind and body by practice. Repetitive practice.

So how can you secure your victory in the business world straight out of the traps? This is virtually impossible - but not completely improbable. I have been reading Richard Bransons' book 'Screw it let's do it' in which he discusses at length the mental fortitude required to succeed. His continuous stabs into the business world began from a very early age. By the time he was 11, he was already learning that giving up was the surest way to failure. He appeared to have a desire which superseded virtually every other emotional and physical need... the desire to 'give it a go'.

Good timing is born from a large amounts of experience and application of that knowledge through practice and stubbornness for not giving in. Mr Branson describes himself as a stubborn and tenacious man, seemingly backed up by a belief that he will never fail at anything... to me timing appears to be the result of effective planning and practice. Timing represents the culmination of all your hard efforts distilled into a single moment of time - that 'perfect' process which has been practised and imagined some many times before that failure; is a less likely outcome compared to success.

In conclusion - if you find yourself standing on the precipice of starting your own business and eventual creative freedom... you are either about to take some hard knocks, learning from each and everyone one of them until you give up and fail... OR  you are about to take some hard knocks, learning from each and everyone one of them until you succeed and grow, and you earn your right to 'good timing' through learning from your experiences.

Engine[er]


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Home, e-learning & blogging