Not all opportunities are equal.

There are opportunities that are just right for your organization and opportunities that you should overlook because

1) it is not enough to be a sustainable venture;

2) it takes an enormous amount of time, effort, and monies to get it off on the ground and even maintain;

3) it doesn't represent your current wheelhouse and departing from what works could get you distracted and confused; 

4) it is a fake opportunity, a carrot being dangled without the evidence of its real value and feasibility;

​5) you are overreading into the situation. 

Not all ideas are germane as business opportunities. Not all offers or interests should be taken seriously.

Test them diligently and be sure that they represent most viable vehicle towards your ultimate goals. Know the people that you are talking with or will work with and check their track record of success or achievement.

There are no shortcuts to careful thought and consideration of the issues that you weigh in. The real value versus the actual costs of making those investments including the time it will take to get it fully completed, should not be underestimated. Most of the time, new projects and initiatives collapse under their own weight putting too much at the beginning when it is important to be light on the foot and formless when things are in flux. If you are not the decision-maker, it is better to be flexible and adaptive, listening to counsel and opinions of those that can make it or break it. 

Remember to be positively inactive when there is no need to take action, especially when the gains are far less than they tend to appear. 

"Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from troubles if you can.
It won't mean your weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you're old enough to understand.
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man."

Sounds familiar? Kenny Rogers 's story-telling through songs is impeccable. Gets me down the memory lane every time I hear this song. 

This article has nothing to do with silly fights and adolescent baptism of fire. This is about turning the other way when presented with situations that not only put you in a disadvantaged position but also jeopardizes your future ability to exercise your leadership and overcome challenges.

Whether you own a business, manage a million-dollar project, or run a team in your department, there are times when you are confronted with an ethical situation or a gray issue. When in doubt, it is time to reflect on the following:

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Am I acting in good faith, being firm about my intentions, objectives, and desires on this specific situation?

​Is the other party acting in good faith? Are they acting and behaving consistently with their intentions and objectives on the issue? Are they pushing too hard, delaying, or withholding important information? 

 Am I presented with a situation that is unscrupulous, way out of the normal bounds of ethics or appropriate behavior? Is the deal too good to be true or laced with conditions that will undermine my sense of control and options?

If you have answered no or maybe to the last two questions, walk away from any situation that will unnecessarily create entanglements, compromises, and deals that are not in your best interests to pursue. Find an adviser who can sort things out for you and better yet delay the decision until you have some clarity around the issues that you want to resolve.

"Walk away from troubles, son..."

If you look at the best people in every industry, job, or occupation anywhere in the world, you will notice that there is one thing that they do consistently, incessantly, and effectively. They engineer their evolution.

To pick at and blame the circumstances, the weather, your spouse,  the economy, the competition, the politicians, the robots, and the social media for all the bad things that are happening in your business, career, and life is like saying,  "Poor me, I have no control and maybe just curl up at home and stay safe!"

We can all do more than that!

The best competent people I know have used their assets to become the epitome of their best bankable selves, especially in the future.

The future of work is about the unique offering, abilities, and massive differentiation. To stand out in the sea of gig workers,  part-time hobbyists, and Alexas,  it is not just incumbent upon the professionals to be the best but also be the top 2% of the pyramid.

Standardization, conformity, and harmonization are a thing of the past. The new worker is an agile maven with multiple skills and competencies that can run around robots and machines out of their batteries. This new worker has high-touch qualities that eliminate the isolation in the customer experience and puts back the human intelligence missing in many transactions.

Work will no longer be a division between your social time, family time, and paying activities. These activities will become wrapped around within the lifestyle and talents of the individual. The remote will dominate the marketplace, and new products and services will serve this new arrangement which represents every other individual outside the cubicle norm.

The most evolved will win big in this new wide world of work.
 

My family went to an antique festival the other week and met some interesting people. One of that was the balloon lady who was hired to provide balloon entertainment to children.

I had a conversation with her briefly because she was prolific in what she was doing. Apparently with one masters, it didn't work for me so she is taking another masters which this particular job is paying for.  

Two masters and you can't get a decent job in your line of profession is tragic. It speaks about how education is not in-line with the needs of the economy and how young people are victimized by this thinking that when you get a higher education, you automatically are good for life! 

I asked her with all the knowledge that she had (knowledge is power right?) she can build a business and say no to a 9-5 routine and get herself established. She said, "but I love living in a student dorm."

I understand the love for learning if this is your thing but clearly,  this is the case of failure-to-launch, staying for the comfort of the educational system and fearing to venture out in the unknown and flexing your muscles or bruising your body to a certain extent to get to what you want. I have met some people who stayed in universities for the longest time they want because out-there is too disorganized and chaotic. 

In life and business, to stay where you are  is never an option. You need to step boldly into the what constitutes the next feasible and achievable progress for your personal and professional development. Failure to try to win is an abominable state of affairs. 

Knowledge alone is not power. The creative and innovative use of knowledge is power. This is not textbook knowledge but application of knowledge for human progress is powerful. 

This is no wonder, that she can't get past how the university hockey players she is tutoring were amazed that there were textbooks for the tutorial. Well, these varsities are living their dream, though.

I was at the Lacombe Field Day yesterday learning about different crop varieties and the beauty and challenges of raising the "next best" variety that farmers and producers can use. The climate, time of planting, the "best use" are some of the variables that interplay in the selection of the variety that will correspond to the specific needs of the industry, whether they are farmers, processors, investors, seed growers, and end users. Agronomy is not for the faint of heart.  

Surrounded by scientists, agronomists, farmers, students, and industry leaders, one session leader asked, "you want high yield, high protein content, maturity, stability, good disease package, then, you want it all. You can't have it all. What are you willing to lose? 

We can't have it all, although pop culture, movies, songs, and fiction books parade a cornucopia of pipe dreams that are only good for watching.

There is no such thing as a spectator in life and business. There are clear choices and options you must make. What are your musts and what are your wishes? Learn to distinguish them in your important negotiations and decisions.

The recent local headline shocked me today. A city is complaining that another bigger city had stolen jobs from them by giving millions of money to a Corporation so that the Corporation can create more jobs in their city.

Well, this is the case of dumb management. I thought the municipality is responsible for job creation through enabling the economic environment to actually become the best environment to get, hold, and maintain jobs and employment for all citizens. 

Now what is happening is the worst case of identity crisis and totally misunderstood mandate. Governments should not manipulate the market to create jobs for people. The bureaucracy is already a big employer in itself. Cities, town, and municipalities should get their hands off the companies and corporations who are more than willing to receive the taxpayer's monies for any reason.

So  this "you want to buy me a job so that I can get a job" is distorting the market, colluding with corporate entities, and imposing enormous risks for citizens. There is no limit to stupid ideas being peddled as innovations or new ideas. What is obvious is the lack of creativity, innovation, and ingenuity of our current municipal leaders to think that by 'throwing more monies, you can let things appear just like that.'

No way Jose! Job creation is a complex results of systems integration of market forces that encourage entrepreneurialism and risk-taking in the atmosphere of favorable business environment. Sans that, small businesses who are the top job creators end up being squeezed to death even before they can launch successfully. 

Who is the one laughing its way to the bank now?


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