“It’s fiiinnnne.” my husband Caleb sighed as he rolled his eyes at me. “I see it. We’re good.”

We were walking the dogs in the park behind our house and I had just spotted a guy coming towards us with his unleashed German Sheppard trotting along behind him. My immediate response was to pull Oak’s leash in so he’s walking close beside me.

Caleb however, still had Willow’s leash extended the full 16 ft and she was eyeing the dog coming towards us. Caleb’s exasperated comment above was in response to me telling him to put Willow on a short leash.

I’m a problem spotter.

The kind of person who can see all the ways something could go wrong and then immediately takes action to avoid the potential issues.

Caleb is not. He waits until a problem pops up then deals with it when it does. And it drives him mad when I “worry” about a problem that hasn’t happened.

Worry is in quotes because that’s his word. I don’t actually feel worried. I’m not preoccupied with doom and gloom and I don’t obsess over potential issues. It’s more about taking a short pause to see if any potential problems exist and then naturally taking whatever action’s necessary to avoid it.

Like looking both ways before crossing the street, but also taking half a second to look down and straight ahead. That way I can avoid getting schmucked by a car but also avoid stepping in the filthy puddle of sewage water that the 5 people in front of me plowed through, while also making sure I don’t trip in the little pothole on the other side of the road.

It’s a skill I use often in my business and one I think more businesses owners need to embrace. That’s why I cover it in my group program, Scale Society which is opening for enrollment later this month.

Being able to spot potential problems is just as important as being able to solve them, and it starts with taking a small pause to look around and evaluate what you see so you can avoid any obvious hazards in your way and make note of anything that might become an issue so you can keep an eye on it.

One way I do this is by checking my workload weekly. Do I have too much on my plate? What’s my priority for the week? Is there anything standing in my way of accomplishing what I need to do; and if so, what do I need to do now to clear away that obstacle?

What about you?

Do you have any practices in your business that help you spot and avoid potential issues? Or do you wait and address issues as they happen? Hit reply and let me know.

Xo
Sandra