My friend has a chronic dry skin problem all her life. She tried every moisturiser available (Even my favorite Bee Natural didn’t work). No matter what the doctor prescribed or what she applied to her skin her hands remained dry and premature wrinkle persisted.
Hindsight 20/20, that neither my friend nor her doctor got to the crux of the problem. He didn’t know what was causing or contributing to the condition. He didn’t know that my friend hardly drank water—only wine and coffee. 5 cups a day. He didn’t know that she had a poor diet (She loves KFC), not a fan of fresh fruit and vegetables and healthy fats. He tried to fix the problem by treating the symptoms, instead of the cause.
We all do this at some point in our lives and perhaps in our business too. We don’t get to the root of the problem and end up fixing potholes. We waste resources, time and energy on actions that don’t help us to create forward motion or get to where we want to go.
We might think that there’s no harm in trying something that might not work while forgetting to account for the “opportunity cost”, that isn’t just wasted time or money—it’s wasted focus and momentum.
Getting to the crux of the problem, whether that’s with your personal goals or your business challenges, is harder than finding a quick-fix solution to treat the cause. But it’s worth the effort.