Time isn’t there to be managed: it’s there to be invested.
As an entrepreneur you can be inclined to jump off the cliff with the intention of building the
parachute on the way down. It’s an exciting place to be. But sometimes, it’s worth taking a little
look before you jump.
So, there I was sitting in the Exit Row of the plane having just received my instructions from the
Steward on how to disarm and dispose of the door in the event of an emergency.
The instructions went something like this: ‘blah, blah, blah, door, blah blah, smoke or fire, blah,
blah pull up and in then throw it out, blah, blah, evacuate, evacuate, evacuate, blah, blah, do you
agree to help?’
Huh?
‘Any questions?’
Umm, yes, what the hell did you just say?
Being quite compliant, I went looking for some clarity. I did a little better with the picture card. But
even so, took the opportunity to clarify with my neighbours the whole who, what, when, why and
how of a possible evacuation.
After confessing we were all just there for the extra leg room we agreed that, for all intents and
purposes, in the event that we had to manually open and dispose of the door we were screwed
anyway and unlikely to be around to face the consequences.
But it did occur to me that there is a nice analogy here with the whole jump and then build the
parachute on the way down thing. As entrepreneurs full of ideas and passion and excitement and
drive, we often jump without considering the safety card.
Sometimes, its not a bad idea to just pause and imagine you are sitting in the emergency exit row
of the plane. Take a few minutes to think about your who, what, when, why and how. Remember
past mistakes and learn from them. Look over the picture card. Consult your support network. And
if true disaster strikes, evacuate in a cool, calm and collected manner – leaving all of your personal
items behind.
