Are you really paying attention?

“You’re fine, you’re right”, says a young mother (at MacDonald’s Park) to her very young child, while looking intently at her cell phone, texting, face-booking, whatever! I was with my daughter-in-law (a young mum) and we felt like telling her, “Oi, try looking at your child when you say it!” She didn’t see that an older kid accidentally swipes her child across the side of her head when coming off the slide.

We are vigilant with my 28-month old granddaughter. Very protective. She's a dear little soul, full of life, play and wonder. She can hold her own too if she needs to! The older kids were a bit too rough. Never mind the notice: “This park is for children of 3 years and under”. I decided to report it to management as it was putting the littlies at risk and that just won't do!

Management came out - and why doesn’t it surprise me? - got a lame response: “Oh well, that sign is correct but we do allow older children if they are supervised by their parents!” The mother of some of the bigger, boisterous, older (good) kids, was inside waiting for an order while the kids played. Other parents were on their devices.

I think about things like that, and being a business owner, I wonder how it applies in a business context. Here’s what I came up with:

• How can you know your business is ‘right’ or ‘fine’ if you are not paying attention to it, or to those in it - employees, sub-contractees, customers, competitors?
• How do you know what damage is being done to it whilst your attention is elsewhere on things not as important?
• What do you do when you find it in a heap and all of a sudden you need damage control? (How did the mother know her child was fine when she wasn’t even looking, and the child was crying?)
• Are you aware of everyone that is in your business? Have you got the right people in there? The right roles, the right fits, the right skill-sets?
• Have you got management that you can trust, and not someone who will bend and break the rules to accommodate others who should not be there?
• Are you aware of all the ‘players’ on your team, within your organization? Do you know all you need to know about them?

Last of all but not least:

• What if the you-know-what hit the fan within your business; it required your urgent attention; it was reported to you; and you being busy, head down, writing, handling a phone call - said, "It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm busy and I will tend to it later when I have got time." What then?
• If you are a business owner, manager, CEO, whatever title you carry; do you have what it takes to shake your business inside/out to make sure everything is as it should be, and even more, so that it is running smoothly?

Are you really paying attention?



Lenna K. Millar (Director)
Audio Transcription & Secretarial Services (ATS)

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