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THE EMPTINESS OF ARRIVAL (AND MEASURING THE WRONG THINGS)
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Before the issue, a few things: First, last week I mentioned the Strategy & Finance Review process we’re doing at Bison CFO. In short, over two calls we’ll: → Analyze your financial health → Map your business model → Diagram your key drivers & KPIs → Provide a list of recommendations & digestible report Since this is a new offering that we’re trying to get reps on, for a limited time we’ll be doing these for $5,000 flat. We’re limiting this to 10 people and we have a few we’ve already talked to. If interested, reply to this email and I’ll send you more details. - Second, I’m going to be releasing a video a week on YouTube. Could you do me a favor and click here to subscribe? We’re going to be going deep, just like we do here. So no fluff, just powerpoint presentations deep diving finance concepts for business owners. I released this on why you’re profitable but broke and today on 3 steps to improve your reporting. Appreciate your support! THE EMPTINESS OF ARRIVAL (AND MEASURING THE WRONG THINGS)read on smbfinanceos.com (I recorded a video on this, which you can watch here) On Sunday, Scottie Scheffler won the Open Championship. But it’s not the win that I want to talk about. It’s what Scottie said before the tournament that caught my attention. During an interview session last Wednesday, Scottie was asked what it meant to win these tournaments. Scottie’s answer might not be what you expected… You can watch it here, but to summarize: “you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for a few minutes.” He references that he won at home, a tournament he grew up going to, to celebrate with family and friends, to then be asked “now what are we going to eat for dinner?” We can laugh, but how true is that? You hit a revenue goal. You land the big deal. You sell the business. And after a short moment of celebration, something strange happens: the high evaporates. You’re left wondering, “Okay… now what?” That moment, what I’d call the emptiness of arrival, happens quietly, but it hits hard. Just a few short weeks ago the Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA title. I wrote about it here. In the interviews after the win, Jalen Williams was asked what was next and essentially said “get back to work.” Shai Gigleous Alexander said, “This is a great start.” They were grateful. But even in the glow of the win, they were already moving on. Already searching for what’s next. It reminded me of something I’ve heard over and over on the MoneyWise podcast where interview a bunch of founders who’ve exited. They thought the sale would fulfill them. It didn’t. They hit their number, cashed the check, and then had to figure out who they were without the thing they’d built. WHAT REALLY MATTERSAt some point, you have to wrestle with that question. What really matters? Scheffler gave his answer: “I love playing golf… but does it fill the deep wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.” For me, the answer is faith. It grounds me. Reminds me I’m not defined by performance or accolades or business metrics. And I saw a lot of that same grounding in how Scheffler spoke about his family, his son, and his priorities. But I’ve also watched what happens when someone doesn’t have that anchor. A friend of mine held a prestigious position at a high-profile company. He was great at it. Respected. Recognized. And then, because of things outside of his control, he lost the job. What followed was years of confusion. Because when your identity is built on your title, your performance, your ability to win, losing any of those things can spiral into a full-on identity crisis. YOUR SCORECARD: BUSINESS & PERSONALThat’s why I believe every business owner needs two scorecards: one personal, one professional. Your personal scorecard might include:
Your business scorecard might look like:
A few years ago, I did a values exercise with a deck of cards that helped crystallize this. Each card had a different value, and the goal was to lay them out, look at them, and narrow it down to the five that mattered most to you. For me that turned out to be faith, family, balance, impact, and fitness. I do this every year now on my own and with my wife. And it’s surprising how often I’ve caught myself misaligned… saying I value one thing, but acting like something else matters more. That’s the thing about values: they’re only real if they show up in your priorities. Scheffler said if golf ever messed with his relationship with his wife or son, he’d have to ask why it mattered so much. In business, you already have a scorecard. You just may not have chosen it.
Those decisions are writing your real values in permanent ink. And if your priorities don’t match what actually matters to you, then it’s only a matter of time before the whole thing feels hollow. RHYTHMScheffler said, “Golf’s a game where you lose more than you win.” He’s right. So is business. Most weeks aren’t flashy. You don’t get a parade. You just show up and try to get better. The Thunder coach Mark Dagnault said, “It’s not about how high your ceiling is, it’s about how high your floor is.” That’s the part no one talks about: the joy is in the rhythm.
Wins feel great. But meaning lives in the day-to-day consistency of alignment. HOW TO WINSo here’s where I’ll leave you: Arrival is a false idol. Alignment, and living through values, is the real win. The only way to continue winning in your business is to align your personal values and business values, then show up every day and do them again and again. I’d encourage you, if you don’t have your personal values written out, to find some time to do it. If you do, find time to reflect on whether there is alignment. Thanks for reading–see you next week, Work with meNeed more than this newsletter? You may not know, I have other ways we can work together. Check them out:
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SMB FinanceOS
Get smarter about business finance in 5 minutes a week. Join 35k+ business owners and leaders learning financial statements and growing their business, for free.