If you’ve spent any time at all talking business or leadership with me, you know the foundational step of my coaching philosophy is “reduce noise.”
It seems that the word noise has evolved over time from the words “nausea” and “nausia.” These uses date back to ancient Greece and Rome (as early as the 8th century BC). 1
Of course the meaning of the word has evolved over time. But, it’s hard to ignore noise’s roots in conveying, quite literally, seasickness, uproar, and disgust. (This, as opposed to the word “sound” which comes with a positive, or at least neutral, connotation.)
This is why you don’t often hear phrases like: “I heard a pleasant noise coming from the symphony.”
Hearing instead, things like: “Would you kids cut out that stinking noise while I’m on the phone?!“
This relationship between seasickness and what I describe to my clients as noise–the distracting, low-value tasks that clutter our lives and reduce our effectiveness–has some practical utility.
As someone who has spent easily a couple of thousand hours on the open ocean, I’m no stranger to a few of the common remedies for seasickness. Oddly enough, they can provide a useful guide for our businesses and daily lives as well.
Preventative maintenance (PM)
One of the more common causes of seasickness I’ve observed has little to do with the motion of the ocean and more to do with our noses. Setting aside for now the significant dangers of not keeping your boat in working order (there’s most certainly a business metaphor there, too), a captain and crew who don’t keep up on their maintenance often subject their guests to an acrid aroma of burning oil and excess exhaust. On a hot day, with little breeze, this causes headaches, nausea, and all around unpleasantness for even the most seasoned of sailors.
When it comes to life and business, this metaphor is pretty straight forward. Do the routine things routinely and plan ahead. From taking out the garbage to maintaining equipment to reviewing your finances, conducting your business PM goes a long way towards positive outcomes even when the wind isn’t favorable.
And, don’t forget to get a breath of fresh air every once in a while.
Look at the horizon
Keeping an eye on the horizon is one of the more practical pieces of seasickness advice. Seasickness is caused by your brain receiving conflicting information from your eyes and inner ear. In other words, your eyes are telling you that the cooler and bucket on the deck 2 feet away aren’t moving, but your inner ear feels the motion of the whole boat, and starts screaming “hang on a minute, eyes, we’re definitely moving…”
One way to help your brain sort this out is to focus on something further away, like the horizon. This provides a stable visual reference point that jibes a bit more with the actual motion you’re sensing.
In the context of business, having a stable vision, purpose, and strategy can help us deal with the most turbulent of times. Working through some proverbial rough seas–lost customers, unexpected expenses, new competitors, etc.–is much more tolerable when we know that these things are short term bumps on the greater journey.
We see the forest for the trees, or in this case, the whole ocean for the waves.
Stay above deck
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a novice boater quietly slip off into the cabin unexpectedly. Like clockwork, in about five minutes they’ll be back topside, looking green and often hanging their head over the side to “feed the fish.”
There are two big takeaways here:
First, it’s pretty difficult to look at the horizon if you’re below deck with your head in a bucket. Closing yourself into a confined space only guarantees you’ll amplify that brain, eye, inner ear miscommunication mentioned earlier. In the same way, trying to hide from our problems rarely results in resolving them.
Second, is understanding why people slink off below deck. I truly think it’s a case of embarrassment. No one wants to be the one who can’t handle a little rough water and many of us have that voice in our head that says “don’t tell them you’re hurting.”
There’s no shame in needing help. Simply admitting there’s a problem is a huge step towards taking tactical and strategic steps to rectify it. This is where working with a coach can be a huge value and save you a ton of time, and pain.
Pressure points
This one is a little shakier when it actually comes to helping folks who are a bit green around the gills. Placing moderate pressure on the underside of your forearm, a few inches up from your wrist, can trigger a relaxation response in the body. That response can alleviate some of the symptoms of seasickness. I’m a bit skeptical, but if it keeps me from having to hose someone’s lunch off the deck, I’ll take it!
The lesson here is to find the best places to focus your time and energy. What will help mitigate challenges and lead to more success further down stream? In many ways, this is really the crux of the strategic approach to life and business. Focus on the vital few areas that bring out your best results – the 20 in the 80/20 rule.
A jolt of adrenaline
There’s hardly a better cure for feeling sick in the middle of a deep sea fishing trip than hearing a reel start screaming with a 100lb fish on the end of the line.
Similarly, finding ways to inject new life and energy into your business, strategy, or life can help you get back on track. Maybe that’s bringing in some new talent, trying out a fresh strategic approach, or simply gaining a different perspective – another area where a great coach can add value.
A note of caution: This approach can be a slippery slope back into the “noise” we’re trying to avoid in the first place. A cool website update and some sweet looking new merch isn’t going to save your business if your finances and positioning are fundamentally broken. Don’t fall prey to “productive procrastination.”
Get your sea legs
Sometimes it just takes time. Repeat exposure to being out on the boat, for some people, results in seasickness being a thing of the past.
This is another tip that begs caution. The old saying is true that most overnight successes take 10 years. So, you shouldn’t expect your business to go gangbusters right away. Strategy and success require patience, focus, and grit. Most successful people will give you a laundry list of all the things they got wrong before they got it right. That’s part of the beauty and thrill of entrepreneurship.
But, the flip side of that coin leads me to my final tip. Sometimes you need to….
Get off the freakin’ boat!
The absolute best cure for seasickness is to get on solid ground.
Learn to practice strategic quitting (a phrase I think I might have just made up). This means viewing your strategy and your business like a scientist. Observe, hypothesize, test, measure, and either replicate or adjust. If something isn’t working, quit doing that thing. Try something else. Sometimes it might be time to get off the boat – at least until you can do some maintenance, take a look at the charts, and point your bow in a better direction.
The bottom line
We all need to be clear headed about what we’re trying to accomplish, the reality of our market, our product, our customers, and any other noise that is getting in the way of our success. Finding that clarity (step two of the Lodestar Philosophy), first requires reducing the noise. I hope some of the tips above help you get started doing exactly that.
If you’re looking for someone to help you navigate the rougher seas, Lodestar Coaching can help with our unique 5-step process. Whether you’re looking for executive coaching, small business coaching, or just a little help getting life back on track, let’s get in touch.
1 See Oxford English Dictionary, Online Etymology Dictionary, and Miriam-Webster Dictionary entries for “noise”