Don't Panic!
We can learn a lot from horses; I sure did. Before my wife got
me interested in them, I couldn't even spell hoarse (!); now I
am learning from them while learning about them.
Today's lesson was learned when Kelly, our mare, found her way
into the breezeway of the barn. The breezeway is the area where
we humans walk when we feed or visit the horses, and also serves
as a storage area for horse-related supplies. It runs alongside
the two stalls, which are on the left as you walk in. (We get
into the stalls from the breezeway, the horses enter and exit
through doorways on the opposite side.) The breezeway is full of
horsey temptations and dangers, including bags of food, treats,
and medications that, if ingested in large quantities could make
them seriously ill: think of it as a candy store for horses. A
very narrow candy store for horses.
Kelly got in there when I carelessly left a gate open that
should have been closed. There she was, sniffing away and
looking for goodies in a fairly confined space, considering she
weighs in at about 1100 pounds.
Uh-oh! She can't be in there! She could get sick or hurt! What
should I do?!? I remembered being told once that when a horse is
in a dangerous situation, you must remain calm. After all, what
do you think she would have done had I run in there yelling at
her? She would have bolted, perhaps further into the breezeway,
perhaps towards me trying to get out. Getting run over by an
upset horse is not my idea of a good time. Who knows what she
would have bumped into, broken, stepped on, or??? Causing her to
panic could have easily caused 10 times more damage than I was
trying to prevent.
So, I stopped to think. I made sure she had a clear route to
where I wanted her to go. And then I walked in there and said in
a firm, but quiet and somewhat disgusted voice, "Kelly! You know
you're not supposed to be in here!" She slowly looked up at me,
turned around, and casually walked out with a look that said,
"Gee, dad, you're no fun!" She went where I wanted her to go, I
closed the gate behind her, and that was that.
It occurred to me that this was a great lesson for our
businesses. Things happen all the time that could have very bad
consequences for us. New competition, new laws that adversely
affect us, loss of an important client, significant world events
such as September 11... the list goes on and on. How do we
react? If we react emotionally, we could make the problem worse.
Your gut reaction may be to yell at an important customer that's
giving you a hard time. Stop. Call them back later.
Cash flow not what you need it to be? Don't panic. Think it
through.
Does your local government suddenly want to slap license fees on
home businesses? Be calm. Discuss it with one of your peers.
My point is this: if a horse gets into the breezeway of your
business, remain calm and carefully consider your options before
reacting. The business you save may be your own.