Today, Eric tackles the truth about uncertainty.
Many business owners and entrepreneurs find uncertainty unbearable. Eric points out that if you, as a business owner, do not learn the art of navigating uncertain times, you may need to reconsider whether it is genuinely the right industry for you.
Uncertainty Feels Tougher Without a Plan
A friend of Eric, living in Israel, recently made the striking observation that he finds frequent missile alerts easier to handle than the uncertainty of running a business. That is because he has prepared himself for those situations. So, when an alarm sounds, he knows exactly what to do. However, navigating uncertainty in business is much harder because there is no clear structure or step-by-step plan to follow.
The truth is that uncertainty becomes far more manageable when you have a plan.
Nothing Ever Goes According to Plan
With decades of experience running meetings and events worldwide, the constant that always stands out to Eric is that things never go exactly as planned, and disruptions are the norm. So, even though we cannot control everything, we can always control how we respond to it.
When we learn to adapt and prepare ourselves with alternative plans, it makes all the difference!
Focus on What You Can Control
Control is not about fixing every problem. It is about identifying the next best step you can take. When unexpected challenges arise, the solution lies in focusing on controllable factors. Proactive problem-solving, negotiation, and networking help us create viable paths forward.
Keep Perspective During Chaos
When stress builds, especially in uncertain times, return to your values, your purpose, and the progress you have made. Uncertainty will always exist, but so will your capacity to adapt, find solutions, and do what truly matters. That is often the only certainty you will need.
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“We can only focus on what we can control.”
Eric Rozenberg
Full transcript of episode 276 of The Business of Meetings podcast, a solo episode with Eric Rozenberg. Lightly edited for readability.
Eric Rozenberg: Hello and welcome to the Business of Meetings podcast. I’m your host, Eric Rozenberg.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of helping businesses in the meetings and events industry grow and succeed. And I’m excited to share that experience with you. If you feel alone and overwhelmed, and if you’re looking to take your business to the next level, improve your strategy and sales, and connect with like-minded professionals, you are in the right place. I invite you to visit eventbusinessformula.com and join our community of event business owners dedicated to exponential growth. Now let’s dive into today’s episode.
Welcome to a new episode of the Business of Meetings podcast. Today I want to address the uncertainty. We hate the uncertainty as human beings and certainly as business owners, and as entrepreneur in the meetings and events industry, if we cannot cope with uncertainty, then probably should be looking at doing something else in another industry.
Recently, and I mean by that the last days, I was speaking with a friend in Israel, Hagai, with whom I’m working as well on different project, and I was complaining about something that was not going as fast as I wanted to. And then I told him, “But who am I to complain? You are now living under missile alert in a shelter I don’t know how many times a day.” And his answer, absolutely yes. And what he told me, he said, “Yes, Eric, but for that I actually deal better with that the uncertainty of the business.” And I said, “What do you mean?” And he said, “I have a backup which is prepared. I know what to do. I know if the alarm sound what I’m supposed to be doing and I know what the different steps are. So this is something that I’m already prepared for and when it’s starting I’m just executing on it.”
And I have to tell you I was completely stunned with this comment, but then make me think, because when it comes to the business, the uncertainty, that’s a different ball game. So, I’m certainly not going to compare the situation of all my friends and family living in Israel today with what’s going on. And made me think about the uncertainty in the business and how it is difficult because we don’t know, nothing ever happens as planned.
And I have to tell you that after 20 years of running project, incentive trips, meeting, product launch in over 50 countries in the world, one thing that was certain is that never would the project be executed the way it was planned. So dealing with uncertainty was certainly the constant in everything.
But if you think about today what’s going on with tariffs, for instance, can we control that? No, we can control the way we react to it. I have a friend, she’s importing furniture from China mainly, and let me tell you that her nights the last weeks, the last months have not been very quiet. But what she can do was looking for other suppliers in other countries and also dealing and negotiating with her Chinese supplier, who apparently were inclined to compensate and reduce the price so that it would compensate the tariffs.
My point is we can only focus on what we can control. If we start worrying about things that we cannot control, the uncertainty there is not going to be helpful. So whatever is happening in our lives, I think it’s essential that we focus on what we can control. In the example I just gave you about the tariffs, that is something that we cannot control. We cannot control what that we are going to do. We cannot control how other countries and other politician are going to react. What we can control is to find different scenarios and reflect on different scenarios and be ready to act.
And I just want to give you another example of where for me it’s important to focus on what you can control. I had a sales meeting for a major medical device company that was organized in Sardinia, the Forte Village, and all the equipment for the production was coming with a truck, and the truck was stuck on a boat. Why? Because the engine of the boat broke. So there was no way, imagine that you have to cross part of the sea. So the truck was one of the first to get into the boat and there were so many cars behind. So it was impossible to ask the truck to pull out of the boat and start driving. And so finally there was an opportunity for us to find equipment. We can start looking to have a duplicate in case of.
And then the engine was repaired, the boat start moving, and it was going to arrive on the Sunday morning in Sardinia, where the sales meeting was beginning on the Monday and rehearsal planned for the Monday morning, have time to drive and arrive at the venue, except that in Italy on Sunday the trucks cannot drive. So we start focusing on how can we have an authorization. I had a friend living in Milan whose son-in-law was in the Carabinieri. So we reach out. Long story short, we had the authorization for the truck to drive on Sunday.
It arrived at the Forte Village around 10 p.m. We had hire extra staff and we start unloading all the material, and I say, “Stop, just put the material by the truck.” And I call the head of the production company we’re working with and I said, “Please tell them which of the boxes you need first to start setting up everything.” So you had a chain like you see in the western when there’s a house in wood which is burning and you see everyone doing a chain and passing the water so that we can try to extinguish the fire. It was exactly that. We were still unloading all the material of the truck that I was already starting to build the whole production set, which obviously took the whole night, and about an hour before we were due for rehearsal, we were ready to start.
My only point here is I cannot control the law. I cannot control the engine. Certainly not able to repair an engine. But what we did was focusing on what we can control. And it might be difficult sometimes because of the environment, because of the geopolitical environment, because of things that are happening beyond our own control as a business owner, and especially in the meetings and events industry. We need to focus on what we can control and try not to be too stressed with what we cannot control.
And so I would just tell you in closing that when you’re stressed, go back to what is essential for you. Go back to what is important in your life. Go back to your values and think about how far you’ve come since you start your professional life. And that is certain.
I look forward to seeing you at another industry conference. If I can help you or my team can help you with your business, let us know. And in the meantime, have a great day.
Thank you for tuning in to the Business of Meetings podcast. I hope you found today’s episode valuable. If you enjoyed the show, the most important thing you can do is leave a review and share it with your colleagues. It really helps spread the word. I truly appreciate your support. And if you’re ready to take your business to the next level, don’t forget to visit eventbusinessformula.com to learn more about how we are helping event business owners like you. Thanks again for listening and I’ll see you next time.
