Don't Panic!

We can learn a lot from horses; I sure did. Before my wife
got me interested in them, I couldn't even spell hoarse (!);
now I am learning from them while learning about them.

Today's lesson was learned when Kelly, our mare, found her
way into the breezeway of the barn. The breezeway is the
area where we humans walk when we feed or visit the horses,
and also serves as a storage area for horse-related
supplies. It runs alongside the two stalls, which are on
the left as you walk in. (We get into the stalls from the
breezeway, the horses enter and exit through doorways on the
opposite side.) The breezeway is full of horsey temptations
and dangers, including bags of food, treats, and medications
that, if ingested in large quantities could make them
seriously ill: think of it as a candy store for horses. A
very narrow candy store for horses.

Kelly got in there when I carelessly left a gate open that
should have been closed. There she was, sniffing away and
looking for goodies in a fairly confined space, considering
she weighs in at about 1100 pounds.

Uh-oh! She can't be in there! She could get sick or hurt!
What should I do?!? I remembered being told once that when
a horse is in a dangerous situation, you must remain calm.
After all, what do you think she would have done had I run
in there yelling at her? She would have bolted, perhaps
further into the breezeway, perhaps towards me trying to get
out. Getting run over by an upset horse is not my idea of a
good time. Who knows what she would have bumped into,
broken, stepped on, or??? Causing her to panic could have
easily caused 10 times more damage than I was trying to
prevent.

So, I stopped to think. I made sure she had a clear route
to where I wanted her to go. And then I walked in there and
said in a firm, but quiet and somewhat disgusted voice,
"Kelly! You know you're not supposed to be in here!" She
slowly looked up at me, turned around, and casually walked
out with a look that said, "Gee, dad, you're no fun!" She
went where I wanted her to go, I closed the gate behind her,
and that was that.

It occurred to me that this was a great lesson for our
businesses. Things happen all the time that could have very
bad consequences for us. New competition, new laws that
adversely affect us, loss of an important client,
significant world events such as September 11... the list
goes on and on. How do we react? If we react emotionally,
we could make the problem worse.

Your gut reaction may be to yell at an important customer
that's giving you a hard time. Stop. Call them back later.

Cash flow not what you need it to be? Don't panic. Think
it through.

Does your local government suddenly want to slap license
fees on home businesses? Be calm. Discuss it with one of
your peers.

My point is this: if a horse gets into the breezeway of
your business, remain calm and carefully consider your
options before reacting. The business you save may be your
own.