But What If I Can’t Deliver All This New Business?

But What If I Can’t Deliver All This New Business?

Sometimes I think that almost every article in the New York Times begins with an implicit or actual “but.” No matter what the good news, there’s a chance something bad will happen. Every year for the past decade some “experts” have predicted the end of this great growth period we’re in. Sooner or later, they’ll be right, not because of their expertise. They’ll merely be lucky about the timing.

We see the same phenomenon in meetings. There’s good news yet always a “but” from someone. I’m not advocating jumping onto every bandwagon racing downhill. I am suggesting that sometimes there’s simply good news and we need to revel in it. I remember congratulating a sales person who beat the quota and made maximum commission. “But,” he replied, “on January 1st, I have to start all over again.”

Some people arise in the morning and say, “What a great, new day, I wonder what opportunities are ahead of me and how I can exploit them?” Others get up and say, “Oh, God, another long, slow crawl through enemy territory.”

I’m the one, with my dogs, racing through the open gate. If you feel the thrill but don’t want to come because there’s too much potential for something bad to happen, just close the gate behind us. No “ifs, ands, or buts.”