This is a quick one today. A 2 minute read. But hopefully one that is meaningful and makes you think.
“Know when to cut your losses if necessary. Don’t let your desire to succeed be the enemy of good judgment. If Napoleon had left Moscow immediately, he may have returned with a salvageable army.” – Jerry Manas
Do you have a marketing effort that isn’t getting any traction? Do you have an employee who is checked out and not pulling her weight? Do you have a partner who does not share your vision and enthusiasm for the business?
What are you doing about that? Are you weeding the garden?
Are you spending good money after bad? Are you expending energy, time, and resources on something that is a lost cause?
Are you weeding your garden?
If you truly believe in something and know it can work, don’t give up. Never give up. Stick with that until it works. Just make sure you are clear on what “works” means.
But if you know something isn’t working and you’ve tried to make corrections, at what point do you throw in the towel, and walk away? At what point do you decide to focus on the things that are working, and to double down on those and move on from the stuff that isn’t?
It’s different for everybody. But it’s a great question to ask yourself periodically. Not only “What do I need to start doing?”, but “What do I need to STOP doing?”.
What do you need to stop doing to regain control of your time, to regain control of your business, to regain control of your relationships? What weeds do you need to attend to in your garden to allow room for the blooms to blossom and the plants to yield?
Start weeding.
Here’s a graph of Napoleon’s march on Moscow. He captured Moscow, by the way. But later retreated with a greatly weakened army which sustained ongoing losses on the return.
“Know when to cut your losses if necessary. Don’t let your desire to succeed be the enemy of good judgment. If Napoleon had left Moscow immediately, he may have returned with a salvageable army.” – Jerry Manas
The breadth of the line is the representative of the number of soldiers in Napoleon’s army. Tan going to Moscow. Black returning. 