It was just 10:20 on a Saturday morning. I had worked with a client, worked out, and was now running the dreaded errands. A dozen cupcakes was next on my to – do list. I pulled up to cupcake castle, parked the car, and left the dogs for just the few minutes it would take to pick out which twelve cupcakes. Right next to the cupcake store was a new women’s boutique. On the sidewalk was a rack of clothes with a sign that read, Half-Off Sale Prices. I momentarily stopped to browse the rack. I saw one great piece. Then I said to myself, “focus, cupcakes first.”
So I proceeded to get the cupcakes. It took all of five minutes and I was exiting with my twelve confections. I walked out of the store to walk right into a woman holding my “one great piece.”
At HorseTalk: Lessons in Leadership, through-out the day I often say that any strategy is better than no strategy. My strategy was flawed. It was probably better to have shopped first and gotten the cupcakes second in light of the heat of the day. I have to remind myself that even a bad strategy is better than no strategy. It was a bad strategy to lose the almost free item. On the other hand, that is money in my pocket.
I do believe that opportunities have a shelf life. I just didn’t expect to be reminded of this at 10:20 on a Saturday morning.
But reminded of this I was as I left with only the twelve cupcakes. Because regardless of the day or the time or the product, opportunities do have a shelf life.
