Calm Company

Most businesses are crazy, hectic, agitated. I know, because my own business used to be one of them. I’d get together with my colleagues and vent about how crazy our clients were, how bad our employees were, and, frankly, how stupid we were to go into business in the first place! I’ve learned a lot since those days. Specifically: It doesn’t need to be that way.

Over the past decade or so, I’ve intentionally worked to bring calm practices into our daily workflows at The Mighty Mo! And as we’ve done that, those agitation-inducing “code red!” emergencies largely went the way of the dinosaur.

What is calm?

A calm business is one that is planful, thoughtful, and always designing ways to limit the number & scope of “code red!” emergencies.

It’s true that every now and then we’ll need to jump into action and resolve an emergency – that’s part of why people pay us the big bucks! But, in my view, they also pay us to lower the odds that a “code red!” emergency will happen in the first place.

Compare these two offices:

Office 1: Everyone knows what they need to do today. Interuptions are rare. Meetings are rare and have clear agendas and max-lengths.
Office 2: Meetings galore! Nobody’s sure what they’ll need to work on today. Surprises abound! The boss is a roaming time bomb!

Obviously, Office 1 is where you want to be. It’s the office you want to run. It’s the office you can be proud of.

The good news is that a calm company is within reach – I know, because I’ve been and continue to be on the “calm company” journey.

Here’s what Calm Companies Are:

Calm companies are free of anxiety-inducing surprises.
Calm companies get paid on time and pay their people on time.
Calm companies communicate deadlines clearly and deliver on promises.
Employees get to unplug on vacation.
Owners get unplugged vacation.
If you are in the USA, owners get monthly, automated W-2 deposits paid to your bank account so your family can plan.
How about attending your little girl’s musical performance at her school? How about writing your own musical? Learning guitar? A camping trip to the boundary waters later this year? All are possible in a Calm Company.
When you run a calm company, you focus your work time so you can free up your personal time.
When you free up your personal time, you open up possibilities.

What Isn’t Calm? The Agitated Company.

The Agitated Company is the company I used to run. Perhaps you are running an agitated company right now.

Agitation is a spectrum, not a place. We’ve all got calm and agitated practices running in our company DNA at all times – the key is to recognize them for what they are and take action:

Calm companies don’t jump from one emergency to the next.
Calm companies don’t push calendars around at the whim of their customers.
Calm companies don’t go crazy when a customer sends an urgent request. (“We have a process for that.”)
Calm companies are use knowledge and experience to their benefit and to the benefit of their customers.

It’s Not Easy to Be Calm.

I know it’s not easy.

I used to run an agitated company.

I converted it to a more calm company, but we’re still working at it every single day. There is no “promised land” – it’s a never-ending work in progress.

The process of getting to our current place took years of continual improvements and small course corrections, but I’m proud to say that we experience Calm successes every day.

And you know what? My wife is happier, my kids are more fulfilled, my customers clearly-understand my value proposition, and I’ve got a hold of my life.

Can you say the same?