By Virginia Mburu
We all have them……
Ideally, we do not like our enemies since an
enemy = battle ahead. And battles are very costly- financially, fatalities,
physical and emotional trauma etc.
However…..
It is by dueling with our enemies; both internal and external that we show
the stuff we are made of and by conquering them, we grow to the next level.
Think about it…..How will your business get
noticed, establish your position, grow your sales, profits or market share
unless you conquer the enemies within and without.
It is your enemy that will motivate you to
excellence. As you duel, they will find your faults forcing you to clean
up your act. You have to work smart to conquer them.
It is your enemy that will cause you to stretch
your innovation. Your customers should actually thank them for the improved
quality, functions or service!
You might even turn them into friends and
an enemy turned friend is a most loyal asset.
Let us dig into a case study below;
“The man of God was angry with him and
said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would
have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only
three times” 2 Kings 13:19
The man of God in the above quote is Prophet
Elisha and the “him” is King Jehoash. Prophet Elisha was very sick and almost
dying. From this narrative in 2 Kings 13, we are told that he actually died of
that particular sickness. All the same, we find King Jehoash running to him
crying- in desperate need of assistance!
He had a major enemy who was giving him sleepless
nights- the Arameans. They had captured some parts of the Kingdom and were
oppressing and humiliating his citizens.
This takes us to the first arrow in dealing with
our business enemies.
Arrow 1.....Clearly identify the
enemy and how it is impacting your business
Now, let us take a peek in your business -
Passionate Entrepreneur…….
Can you identify your enemies and the impact on
your business and on YOU as a person?
Let us start with possible external enemies. The
list below is just a sample of these enemies. Please add as need be.
What about those ones that hide
within your business?
Arrow 2.....Get help from the
best of the best
King Jehoash knew where he could get
assistance on how to handle the issue at hand from the best of the best---
never mind that this person was on his death bed!
He had so much faith in him that despite his
condition that he cried out to him as “Father, Father… "The chariots
and horsemen of Israel! The Prophet did not disappoint. He took care of
his emotional and tactical needs.
“ Elisha said, "Get a bow and
some arrows," and he did so. "Take the bow in your hands," he
said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the
king's hands. "Open the east window," he said, and he opened it.
"Shoot!" Elisha said, and he shot. "The Lord 's arrow of
victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Elisha declared. "You will
completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek." (Verse 15-17)
Please note that Elisha put his hands on the
King’s hand as he shot the arrow signifying delivery and victory. The King
obviously knew how to shoot but now he was learning how to “aim like a
prophet”.
Passionate Entrepreneur
- Who can you consult when you have to deal with the enemies above?
- Where can you acquire the best and up to date information and resources you need?
- What are the best strategies to execute and in which order?
And then Prophet Elisha, like every good
teacher, trainer, coach or mentor put him to test……….
Then he said, "Take the
arrows," and the king took them. Elisha told him, "Strike the
ground." He struck it three times and stopped.(Verse 18)
King Jehoash had not run out of arrows… So why
did he choose to shoot only three times? Why did he stop too soon? Did he consider
it beneath him to strike the ground? Did he not have a strong belief in
himself?
Did it just reflect his level of unpreparedness?
In verse 7, we are alerted on the state of the military he inherited from his
father King Jehoahaz.
“Nothing had been left of the army
of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers,
for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust at
threshing time”
Did he not have a strong desire to completely
destroy his enemy? Was he indifferent to the humiliation and distress his
people were subjected to?
All in all, the action or inaction of
the king determined the answer to his problem. And so it
applies to you - Passionate Entrepreneur- the result you achieve is a factor of
the actions you take or not take.
Which brings us to the third step…….
Arrow 3.....Have enough armory and shoot
all arrows necessary to completely conquer the enemy
“The man of God was angry with him and
said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would
have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only
three times” (Verse 19)
If you thoroughly completed exercises in step 1
& 2, you have all the ammunition you need to conquer the enemy. You have
even prioritized who or what enemy to start with based on the impacts.
Now you it’s time to persistently shoot all the
“necessary” arrows until you completely conquer the enemy or turn them into
friends. While at it, do not spread too thin. Conquer the major ones one after
another or similar ones together.
And it came to pass……..
In verse 25 -“Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz
recaptured from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the towns he had taken in battle from
his father Jehoahaz. Three times Jehoash defeated him, and so he recovered the
Israelite towns.”
King Jehoash had lost his chance. He
could have completely conquered the Arameans and made them an
example of what happens when you dare raise a finger against his kingdom.
Unfortunately he did not and the Moabites soon came calling because he settled
at three tries………
Over to you-Passionate Entrepreneur;
- Have you identified all your business enemies and their impact on your business?
- Have you identified the sources of all information and resources you need to win this war?
- Are you willing to go all the way to the finish line?
Leave your comments below and share
your experiences, views, questions, suggestions etc. with the other Passionate
Entrepreneurs on the above challenges.
Update
Virginia Mburu
The Work Less, Make More Money Passionate Entrepreneurs Coach
Virginia
empowers and motivates Passionate Entrepreneurs to realize their purpose and
pursue it. She then assists the entrepreneurs to clarify, prioritise and focus
on management and marketing strategies and action plans that will get them to
work less, make more money and positively impact within one year. Download some of her
gifts- absolutely free lessons on www.biasharacoach.blogspot.co.ke
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