"The Biology of Business 3: Avoiding the Hidden 10% Trap."

Here, we'll take a much closer to look at how the logistics and finances are working together to produce the positive results we desire to see every day, and how to make them work even better, with the least amount of energy needed. To do this, we are only going to focus on 10% of our business.

Why such a small portion? Believe it or not, in most cases when it comes to business or life in general, it’s 10% of the equation that’s making the largest impact on what we have that’s working! To make you feel better about this invisible equation, all of us have a natural blind spot for this 10% remainder. No matter how smart or successful we are, there is always just a little bit of what we have in motion that could use a hand to make it work better. This isn’t due to negligence, at all. Even the best plans will become better in time with a revisit. Refinement is a natural part of the plans we have. Its only purpose is so that we can keep on getting closer to where we really wanted to be. For example, I needed to edit this article seven times before it was finished and ready to post. That’s simply refinement, in action. So, it’s literally – everywhere we are.

Do you think it makes sense to look at 10% of what might need a little adjusting, so that 90% of what’s already there, can work even better?

Whatever answer you came up with here...Is the only tough threshold you needed to cross, so that your business can work even better than it has been. So, how was that? Not that difficult, at all – right?

Now you are coming from the exact place that you needed to be in, so that a positive solution can be put into place, easily and effectively. When a problem is framed in a positive light, the "answer" becomes something that you can begin to get excited about! So, now that you’ve overcome the most difficult hurdle, you can begin to tighten the gap between what’s already working and what needs adjusting, so that you land much closer to the vision you have...

Without knowing your specific circumstance, I can tell you from working at over 60 major companies the only real impediment to increased growth, comes from being willing to sacrifice the instant 10% of growth in profits – by putting 90% of your guaranteed profits, at risk. I’ve seen this situation so many times, and it affects every part of your business that’s actually working to make you money. So, since you’ve passed the first question with flying colors, I’ll ask you one more…

In your right hand, you have $90. In your left, you have $10. One is guaranteed, and one is a gamble that puts all of it at risk. If every dollar in business counts, and they all do – which hand should you put more of your energy and attention on?

If you answered the right hand, you are 100% correct. So, the multi-million dollar question is how can we have both – a guarantee of 90% and even more growth, without losing anything? It’s quite simple...

If your business needs that 10% or a part of it, so that 90% of it can keep on growing naturally, then keep that energy, those funds, and those people in their places. Profits do not only grow from lateral moves – they are generated from a winning formula that’s repeated, every day. In essence, what’s already working, works with interest. Energy and forward momentum grow all on their own, as long as the means are consistently in place. So, while it may be tempting to take some of the funds that are there to generate your 90%, and move them into another part of the ledger sheet, so it "appears" you’re gaining more, in the end – the numbers and "how" they are actually being produced – will always win, over any other decisions we make.

You’ve worked very hard to get where you are now, and your guaranteed profits and the number of stores you have, already proves this – without question. So, if you have a system that’s generating regular, steady profits – keep all of the money you need to keep that system up and running at its best, exactly where it is…Because: it’s working!

If you somehow overlooked what I call the hidden 10% trap, there’s no need to feel bad, or worry about it. You’ve already crossed that threshold and answered your own question about it. You just needed someone to take you across that divide – as we all do sometimes, and that’s exactly what we did. So, take the 10% you’ve gambled on, and put it back into the people and the system that’s already working for you. That 90% will only continue to grow, without ever having to second guess your decision. By doing this alone, you’ll see that what you started out with, will work so much better than it did before. Why? Because you’ll actually be able to see how the emotional and logistical sides of your business are working together to produce your financial results. At the end of the day, all three of these areas are working together in a symbiotic way to produce gains. And that overlap can’t be found or exactly measured on any metrics sheet.

Life has naturally included within it, a mystery – a way for us to be astonished and amazed at how some of our best results are being produced, despite what we see in black and white. So, if you want your business to thrive easily, keep what seems like an “extra” 10% in its rightful place, and let time and positive energy combined or momentum (physics at its finest), do what it does best! Any other method brings the apparition of fast results on the surface; but a very heavy price is paid in the process that lays our hard work to rest. And, after all of that real and dedicated effort, who needs that?

To think that 90% of your problems can easily be fixed or avoided, by putting only 10% of your profits and energy back into – what made you the money in the first place. This sounds like a very simple and wise investment decision to me. I hope this has helped to shed some positive light on some areas in your business that really needed it the most. When we take care of what's there, what's there takes care of us. We can grow more by building on what's already in place, so that it just keeps growing...Or, we take away what's there, diminishing our circle, and expecting something bigger will somehow, come out of that smaller space.

Sometimes, it's really as simple as looking at these two options to have what we really wanted, all along!