What’s your ROEE, return on energy expended? We often think about ROI, return on investment when considering for example what to buy. Will the amount we spend/invest yield more than we are paying because if it doesn’t it is probably not a smart investment.
However, how often do you focus on how much energy you are expending in your business. After all, like time, your energy is finite. You only have so much of it. Sure we would all like to be super woman (or superman) and have the kryptonite factor that makes us invincible but the reality is, as far as I know, we don’t.
Time and time again I come across business owners expending loads of energy into their business and yet ironically not getting the results they want. I know that has been the case for me this year. It seems like I have been working harder than ever and yet the results I desired have not materialized. And this got me to thinking why this is happening. It is certainly not my lack of effort or commitment but somehow the energy I’m putting in is not manifesting out the other end. Something needs to change but what is it?
As I watched my VIP clients during an Unbridled Success Leadership Day I suddenly gained the insight I needed to solve this challenge. These VIP clients come every year to work on their next year goals and gain clarity and insight on how to approach any upcoming challenges. They were doing an exercise leading the horse through an obstacle course towards their 2017 goal. My client made in through the course and reached her goal but as I observed her leading my pony Thistle it looked like such hard work for both parties. The energy expended felt disproportional to the result. So I asked the client what would need to change to make the exercise easier?
After reflecting she said that doing the exercise with her business partner would make it easier. So as her business partner was also part of the workshop she joined in and sure enough they both completed the course with Thistle, and it was way easier. Now as these clients primarily work with groups I decided to up the game. I gave both clients two horses to lead around the obstacle course and asked them to follow each other around. Wow, what a difference. In this group setting the energy changed again. There was laughter and fun and the horses all upped their pace and trotted around the course. It all looked so effortless as everything happened in collaboration. The goal was accomplished easily and the clients had so much fun.
The learning we all took away from this exercise was that you need to find the best way for you to work where it is fun and seemingly effortless. You need to find a space to work in where you are in flow. For these clients working in a group as a team is their optimal way of working and when in this situation the positive, creative energy expended didn’t feel wasted. It was almost as if the energy expended created momentum rather than when working alone when the energy was almost putting a brake on proceedings.
So if you want to discover the best way for you to work and where your strengths are and how you can get into flow, then connect with me for complimentary consultation. Don’t spend 2017 expending your energy on tasks that don’t serve you but rather find your flow where you get a great ROEE.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
