Reflections on Fly Fishing and Business

I love to fly fish.   The quiet scenery.    The sound of the river flowing past a boulder as I hear the quacks of waterfowl overhead.   The calm, yet powerful flow of a river rushing against you as you stabilize yourself in the current.   The amazing experience when you see trout “sipping” flies off the top of the water, noses up, as the sun sets during a cadis fly  hatch.  And, if I am successful, my cell phone doesn’t get service.   

 In a river with my fly rod is my happy place.  In my current stage of life, I don’t get out there enough by my own selfish standards.   However, I feel incredibly blessed when I do escape and create the space to reflect on life, on business, and hopefully catch a fish in the process.     

 Sometimes, though, my happy place requires hard work when the conditions are less than optimal.   

Imagine for a moment you finally can escape work for an afternoon and disconnect for a few hours.   What starts out as a sunny, beautiful blue sky quickly changes.   The wind picks up, light rain starts to fall and, before you know it, snowflakes are flying in the air.   

The eyes of your rod (the small holes in your fishing pole that contain your line) start icing over and you continually need to break the ice off so you can cast your line.   The river is running higher than expected and trying to stabilize your footing in the river feels like a 300-pound defensive lineman is trying to sack an SEC quarterback.   And amidst all this, you now question your decision to NOT put that extra layer of clothing on prior to locking up your car 1 mile away.  

Do you give in and head back to your car with visions of the warm comfort of your house?  Or do you set your mind on fighting thru the conditions and stay in the river with the hope that your diligence will result in catching a fish?   Besides, who knows the next time you will be able to escape the office to be out in the river again?

In many ways, the current business environment feels like that river I just described:  macro challenges outside your control, the need to fight through the current so you can stabilize (and improve) your revenue growth, and most importantly, fixing your eyes on success (rather than allowing your doubts to cause you to stumble).  

As I speak to my network of peers and leaders, the macro challenges are real.   I don’t need to rehash all the challenges we face in this current business environment, but the reality is that there are circumstances outside our control.    However, there are things within our control that can help us not only survive but thrive by focusing on “controlling the controllable” aspects of our business.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing what I see as the synergies between fly fishing and the essential pieces to a successful revenue growth plan.    My goal in this series is to share some of my knowledge that I am passionate about (business growth), to provide some tangible ways to think differently about your marketing approach, and possibly entice you to learn more about the art of fly fishing.

I love growth.   I want to see people and businesses succeed.    I hope you choose to read this series and allow me to take you on a journey in the river with me, and maybe think differently about business (or feel inspired to learn how to fly fish). 

If you feel compelled, I encourage you to share.