Trusting Microsoft’s “Update and shut down” is like telling yourself you will only watch one episode on Netflix.
You know it probably wont work but you press it anyway. Maybe this time it will really turn off. Then morning comes and the computer is still alive, buzzing quietly and stuck on the login screen like nothing ever happened.
Nothing actually shuts down but it just waits for you to log back in.
Before a long weekend, you close every tab, clear as many emails as you could, lock the office and walk out thinking everything will finally be still when you return. Come Tuesday and the inbox has doubled, the pending list of tasks are still there and the quick jobs you parked on Friday have somehow turned into full blown projects.
Business does it with staff, projects, loans and even the end of a financial year. Every time you think something has finished, it quietly restarts behind the scenes.
Your apprentice resigns. You wish him well, thank him for his work and move on. Next week he is back with the same ute and tools, except now he is a subcontractor sending invoices at triple the rate. He did not really leave but just restarted on a higher level.
You make the final loan repayment and think you are debt free at last. Then someone mentions equity release and next thing you know, you are signing papers for another property.
Your customer tells you, “This is the last version, all done.” Two weeks later, an email lands “Just one small tweak,” which somehow means six changes, a new invoice and another round of signings.
30 June arrives and you breathe a sigh of relief. Done for another year. Except the very next day, BAS, new rates, new super rules and fresh ATO legislation kicks in. 30 June was the season finale and the new season started immediately on 1 July.
Business is another version of Microsoft’s “Update and Shut Down.” You think it is off and its done but somewhere, something is still running in the background.
Business is not about switching off. It is about learning to restart better the next time, the next day, the next week, the next month or the next year.
Or try to atleast…