Emergency

Wednesday, December 27, 2006
By Walt F.J. Goodridge
Special to the Saipan Tribune


The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest—in other words, your passion!


In a previous article, I introduced the concept of the Condition Formulas (“The Secret Formula for Everything” Oct 11, 2006). This week we'll explore another of those formulas. First let's recap a few concepts and definitions.

To understand the Condition Formulas and their application in your life, it will first be necessary to know that:

1. Every aspect of your life is in a certain state or “condition” of growth.

2. Because of the dynamic nature of the universe, things are either getting better or getting worse. (There's no such thing as something “staying the same.”)

3. There are things that you did or didn't do that got you into that condition.

4. There are things you should or shouldn't do to get yourself out of that condition.

Product: Someone or something that has been brought into existence; the end result of a creation. A product is a finished high-quality service or article in the hands of the consumer as an exchange for a valuable. It is not a product at all unless it is exchangeable.

Every person, every group, every organization and every nation should identify their unique product. The Condition Formulas can't be applied correctly if one does not have or know your product.

Statistics: A number or amount compared to an earlier number or amount of the same thing. It is simply the relative rise or fall of a quantity compared to an earlier moment in time. Statistics refer to the quantity of work done or the value of it in money. Statistics are the only sound measure of any production or any job or activity. They tell of production. They measure what is done.

As I said, the formulas can and do apply to any area of your life. And as you read, you may find yourself thinking about your job, your business, your organization, your family, even your social life. But for the sake of simplicity, I'm going to refer to anything we wish to apply it to as a “venture.”

As mentioned, the secret formula is part of a set of formulas that applies to specific conditions. The set of conditions-by name-in descending order (i.e. the sequence a venture might experience if it were once successful but now heading toward failure) is as follows:

Power --> Affluence --> Normal --> Emergency --> Danger --> Non Existence
This week, we'll explore the formula for the Condition of Emergency.

The Condition of Emergency

When a statistic remains unchanged over a period of time, it is in a condition of Emergency. Additionally, when a statistic is seen to be gradually declining over a period of time, it is in a Condition of Emergency.

For example, let's say that the product for your venture is “hotel rooms booked.” Let's say that you booked 100 rooms two months ago, 100 rooms last month, 100 rooms this month. Your business would therefore be in a Condition of Emergency. (Also, by definition, if the rooms booked was seen to be gradually declining, you might also be in a state of Emergency).

Many people think that the ideal in life or in business is for things to stay the same. Especially if they are somewhat comfortable, people believe that “if I can just hold on to what I've got and not make waves, then things will be alright.” They think that if they can just keep producing at or earning at a steady pace, that they'll be OK. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

If you earn the same salary this month that you earned last month, are you doing well? Or let's ask: Are you doing better or worse? The answer is worse. Think about it. Because of inflation, if you earn the same salary this month, then your salary is actually worth LESS and purchases LESS than it did last month. So, when you think things are staying the same, they're actually getting worse. It may not be intuitively obvious, but that's why this condition is called “Emergency.”

To handle an Emergency condition and get one's statistic(s) to rise, one must do the formula for the condition of Emergency, which is:

1. PROMOTE (for an organization), or PRODUCE (for an individual)

2. CHANGE YOUR OPERATING BASIS.

3. ECONOMIZE.

4. THEN PREPARE TO DELIVER.

5. STIFFEN DISCIPLINE.

Let's take a closer look at each step. Keep in mind that the examples below are made purposely simplistic just for the sake of clarity.

In its simplest form, PROMOTE means making things known; it is getting things out; it is getting oneself known, getting one's products out. In business this may require writing and sending out press releases and launching a publicity campaign to get written about in newspapers; it may mean focusing on getting your products in stores or on display somewhere they can be seen.

CHANGE YOUR OPERATING BASIS refers to changing certain habits and practices that may have lead to the Condition of Emergency. Perhaps you are a habitual procrastinator. Perhaps you are a fanatic perfectionist who keeps delaying the launch of your project. Perhaps you have a habit of letting orders sit on your desk for too long before getting around to them. Whatever it is, you must identify your operating basis and change it.

ECONOMIZE means don't spend any money unnecessarily. Don't invest in new equipment right now. Don't spend on a new facility or paintings for the office, or anything that's not absolutely essential. Continue focusing your resources on promoting until your statistic rises.

Once your statistic rises, then PREPARE TO DELIVER. This means taking only the essential actions that need to be taken in order to deliver more and more of your product. If you are selling products over the Internet, then invest in shipping supplies or a shopping cart that allows you to fulfill orders more efficiently. If you are providing a service, then it may mean getting more personnel in the office-anything that you need to create, produce or offer more of your product.

Finally, STIFFEN DISCIPLINE. This may be the most challenging part of the formula whether you are applying it an individual or an organization. If you are an entrepreneur, it may mean staying up later hours, delaying gratification, sticking to a production schedule. If you are an organization, it may mean implementing unpopular disciplinary measures that create new habits among employees. Whatever the means, it is vitally important that discipline be part of the solution or else the Emergency Condition will continue and/or recur.

Now again, the simplicity of the formulas does not also imply that their implementation will be simple. However, the more thorough and disciplined you can be in your execution, the more success you will have. The most important part, however, is to diagnose the condition of your venture accurately.

Here's wishing you a happy holiday and much success achieving the coming year's goals!

[portions adapted from How to Improve Conditions in Life by L. Hubbard]

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Until next time, remember, success is a journey, not a destination!-Walt



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