A Best of Barry: I'll take that opportunity when I have time

Opportunities are priceless today. An opportunity can be the difference in you keeping your job or not. Or the difference in your company staying in business or not.

Yet opportunities are not looked at accurately, in fact they are often avoided. Many times they are viewed as burdens, options or timeless. So when a person or a company is faced with an opportunity, too often the answer is: I (or we) will tackle it when I (or we) have time, when that current campaign is over, when the current project finishes or even when I (or we) feel like it.

The problem is, by that time, the opportunity may be long gone. Think of it like this: you have an oncoming project that keeps you 60% occupied. It will conclude in two months. At the same time, an opportunity that would be phenomenal appears. What do you do?

Do you wait until the current project concludes? If so, the opportunity will gone. So might you, because what guarantee is there that there will more work after that?

If you tackle the opportunity, however, you might fear that you'll not have enough time. This is where the really successful people and companies shine because they use their resourcefulness to solve this issue. Sometimes it means getting help, sometimes it forces you to deal with issues quicker--asking the tough questions or making the tough decisions that normally would bog you down.

Taking on that opportunity will make you better because you'll have to think entrepreneurially, you'll take ownership, become more decisive--it's exhilarating.

It's not a pleasant reality, but if companies don't attack opportunities, they will lose. If employees don't jump at opportunities, their job security plummets. There is simply too high a value on growth and productivity today--being the opportunity person or company makes you invaluable.

Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
Originally posted 11/20/09
www.labov.com