It may seem harsh to call someone lazy but I think the time is right for us to bring this word back into our vocabulary. Try not to be offended. Im not saying you’re lazy, I’m saying that as a CEO or business owner, you can often be lazy and not recognize it.
Here is the definition of lazy: “disinclined to activity or exertion : not energetic or vigorous.”
Do you ever look like this? I do! The last few years have really taken a toll on our energy levels and our willingness to step and do what we know we should be doing to reach our goals.
Lazy is not the absence of activity but the absence of the right activity. For example, if you know it is important to create training for your team so they stay sharp and keep up with the demands of the market, and yet you don’t do that – you are being lazy. If you know you should not have 80% of your revenue coming from one or two major accounts and yet you let this continue for years, you are being lazy. We could also talk about the problems you have at home or with your health that you ignore year after year – lazy.
Please don’t blame the economy, make excuses for why you aren’t doing something, say you can’t do anything about it, or waiting and hoping you’ll have the money, time and people to do it in the future. (These are the traps we talk about in our book “Nobody Cares..until you do.”) The time is now if you want to avoid being lazy as you live your life and lead your team.
You can be busy and still be lazy.
It’s not that you sleep in until noon and play x-box all day. You can be very busy and still be lazy. We often say there is not enough time and money to do all we want to do, but we rarely take the time to step back and objectively look at where we are spending our time and money to get the best return. Call it what you want but you’re being lazy if you refuse to do this.
It’s hard to see where we may be busy yet be lazy and not be aware of it. That is one reason why successful business owners and CEOs join our peer to peer advisory groups here in DFW. We meet each month to create a place of real accountability and support to reach our goals. We are inspired by the wisdom and results others have and that fuels the desire to be our best.
Intentional Living is the opposite of lazy.
Our mastermind groups here in DFW will be focused on Intentional Living as we pursue the life we truly want. This requires being intentional and recognizing areas of our personal and professional life where we have allowed ourselves to be lazy. Together we will identify these areas, make plans to change the way we live, and support each other as we get it done.
Ask yourself these questions and see where you may be lazy and not see it that way:
– Are you living the life, marriage, health, fun, passion, faith you want? What are you doing about it?
– Do you have the company, profits, leadership team, customers, culture that you want? What are you doing about it?
– Are you doing things you do NOT want to be doing? What would make you want to give that up?
2025 is the year of Intentional Living where you proactively create the life and company you truly want. Do you have a group of successful leaders who will help you live the life you really want? If not, join ours.
Robert Hunt
The Accountability Guy.