1. Take a step back
2. Identify & articulate your values
One common cause of business owner stress is a conflict between our deeply felt values & the activities they spend our time & resources on. See in case you can identify the thinking that crystallized your decision & in case you can identify a common thread in your decision making that identifies your core values.
3. Revisit your goals
4. Identify the core constraint
The theory of constraints conceives of a business as a technique of input & output, with a core constraint limiting the flow of output at any given time.
Identify the activity or technique bottleneck that forms the “weakest link” in your output technique. For example, the huge majority of small business growth goals are limited by lead generation. It is important for you as the business leader to consciously identify this “core constraint”, & focus your resources on it.
5. Focus mostly on the core constraint
One of the cornerstone principles in TOC business management is the idea that companies often generate gross inefficiencies by striving for maximum output in all parts of a business simultaneously. When you have installed a “core constraint” mindset in your business, you can review your efforts to decide that your “core constraint” has not shifted to some other part of your business.
There is a huge difference between finding yourself or your business in an overwhelming situation, & feeling overwhelmed yourself. Dealing with employees, payroll, clients & relatives takes a lot out of the small business owner.