Post-Mortem - Filtering through the ashesBy Ernest ShawAfter the dust has settled and while the coals are still smoldering, break out the rake and see what happened. This is the time to dig in and get to work learning what went wrong as well as, what went right, as they both provide valuable insights. I note both the right and wrong because no matter how hard you may want to believe that things were all bad, there were some sound strengths in the process. Sometimes the strengths are shadowed by poor judgment, false or inaccurate assumptions, or just plain bad luck butin either case, the end result is yours so you may as well learn from in. As you begin, I caution you to not be too quick to pounce on or point out a smoking gun. What went wrong is often times more than just one obvious symptom. Take a deeper look making sure that you are not diagnosing the cough and missing the cancer. Be thorough.Ok, now that you are ready, do you see? What is the root cause of the problem? Is the problem a result of inadequate planning or preparation stemming from a knowledge gap or misinterpretation? Or does the root cause stem from poor judgment brought by bad assumptions? What is it? What single factor, or set of factors, are at the root of your failure? In my most recent failure, poor decision-making seemed the obvious problem however, after some digging there were other strong contributors and sources. The fundamental root cause for my failure was the lack of restraint in making a decision and the failure to validate two key assumptions before jumping in headfirst. Assumptions are the life’s blood of every decision and in programmer jargon, “GI-GO” or “garbage in; garbage out” holds true. The assumptions that I failed to validate were the true long-term operational costs of an expensive automobile, noting general maintenance and reasonably well-known failures. The second assumption I failed to validate was the value of maintaining an cheap mode of transportation as a rock steady backup. While this failure is personal in nature, business failures follow the same lines. Not only that, but, if you are prone to bad assumptions at home, guess what, you will probably doing the same thing at the office. So, what do you see? Take your time and look closely as what you see may surprise you.Thus far during on my journey towards “large-scale” success, defined as being financially self-sufficient, I have caught myself either falling or having fallen, two times. The first failure occurred more so as an awakening as opposed to an actual failure. I note this, as Shaw 1.0. It was the actual awakening from my born and raised “middle-class” way of thought. Get up, commute, pay bills, repeat. Not that middle-class is bad, on the contrary, middle-class is great, however, I wanted more for myself, to give to others, and for my children. Thus, I note this awakening as the first “recognized” large-scale failure. The recovery took the form of a total financial overhaul reworking credit cards, mortgage payments, auto loans, savings accounts . . . I’m talking the whole thing from A to Z. As painful as it was, we did it and the future began to look nice. So nice in fact, that upon noting the financial success both my wife and I forgot the pains and enlightenment we had endured. In short we paved the way for Shaw 2.0 by means of a fun filled mental lapse. During this lapse, we over spent, ran up debts that we didn’t need and generally had a really good time.This second awakening was much more painful than the first. This time, we were on the wings of success and found ourselves fighting to stave off a steep plummet to the bottom. The pain was both financial and emotional with the latter being the most significant. During this second adventure, Shaw 2.0, we began to look outside of just the dollars and cents seeking the true cause of our problem. We examined our marriage, our spending habits, and our family history as it related to wealth and finance. It was at this point that we both came to the realization that we will have to be mindful of all that made us who we are if we were to achieve the level of success we desired. Both of our families bordered somewhere between poor and middle-class, worked hard, saved little, and spend what they could. For us, the challenge was to adopt not only financial literacy, the numbers game, but to gain control of our emotions and long taught habits.This is for us, and for most people, the true challenge. All of us have the brilliance inside to move mountains. However, we must also ask,do we have the strength and resolve to keep the mountain from returning? Emotional control, financial management, and discipline are all needed to allow a great synergy to occur. We have done it before, and so can you. The good news: After a failure or two, you know the path leading to the top. The bad news: You now have to fight the hill and your battlefield to get to virgin ground again. Such is life and the school of hard knocks! Just hang in there and have faith. You can do it!

[ Tue, 11 Jul 2006 23:04:39 GMT ]

Listen

Download

Listen on your iPhone