As business owners we should always be ready to learn how to improve our business no matter where we are. The success of our business should always be on the top of our mind.
Communication and Flexibility Are Key
A few years ago I had the pleasure of learning about fly fishing from the great Chico Fernandez. His communication style was so polished that he made sure that everyone in the audience (about 25 of us) felt like he was talking directly to them. After his talk I had the chance to get a few minutes with Mr. Fernandez . I shared with him my concept of teaching basic business practices as it relates to our passion of fishing. I must say, I got a confused look from him.
Communication
What I initially took from his lecture was that in order to get to where we want to go, we need to be able to communicate to others so they can assist us. One of the things I do with my clients is have them look to the future and have them tell me want their business to be. I call it their “Charted Course”. Once the “Course is Charted” and the “Destination Set”. The business owner can then share it with others so they can see their vision and help them achieve it.
One of my favorite stories of the evening was about his passion of catching large barracuda on the fly. When fishing a new lodge, he said he needed to find the guide who knows where these big cuda’s live. To do this he would befriend the lodges cook, he did this to find out which guide was best at this type of fishing. His goal was to find out what the guides favorite beverage was. Once known he would find the guide at the dock and share a drink . Then he could begin to leverage the relationship to help him achieve his goal of catching the biggest and baddest barracuda on the flats.
Flexibility
Chico told that when he fishes for large cuda’s he typically uses a loop to loop connection. This type of connection is typically not the strongest, but it allows him quickly change flies when he has a finicky fish that is excited. If he had to re-tie a new knot the fish could turn off and not readily feed again. He was willing to give up strength for flexibility in order to be successful. In business we need to understand we need to evaluate things regularly in order to be successful. There are times when we need strength and time when we need flexibility.
So in a very short period of time while learning about fly fishing, two major business principles were re-confirmed. We need to be able to communicate our vision very quickly and effectively so others can help us achieve it. And there are times we need to give up things to be successful.