The first email I opened last Friday contained panic inflicting news.  It was a financial report and upon first review, we had made much less money than I expected and that we needed to maintain cash flow.  My first instinct was to panic, thinking about what I should do right this moment to fix the situation.  How could we make more money immediately?  There wasn’t much I could do about it in that moment because I had just ordered breakfast and my food had not even arrived.  Besides, I was hungry and definitely not leaving without eating.  This did not stop me from instinctively thinking that I should jump up, get to the office and ask my team what we should do!

Then upon a moment of reflection, I was reminded that our business success is not a sprint, but that I am in it for the long term.  The financial report specifically pertained to a division that we have owned for just 18 months.  It was stagnant, had no forward momentum, but tons of potential.  That is one of the things that attracted us, knowing that there was so much potential waiting to be captured.  It should not come as a surprise that revenues have not turned instantly.  I was also able to reflect on why the number might be down and realized it was simply a matter of timing.  The year ended just before we sent out a huge order that had been in the works for months.  The expense to purchase materials and assemble the product had been incurred, but the sales had not been realized.  Putting those sales into the equation, we had actually done very well and are set to have a great start to the year.

Continuing the reflection, I reminded myself that it will very likely take about 5 years to get the full team in place, give them time to develop and implement projects that will drive growth.  We will also simply need time for that growth to occur.  Even beyond that, the return horizon we are measuring ourselves against is 10 years.  Why am I panicking 18 months in?

I can be patient.  I am invested for the long game and will see it through, but in all fairness I may have still come into the office with a little extra urgency.