Proactive vs. Reactive

Proactive vs. Reactive

As I write this email, I’m in Chicago waiting on a flight to Phuket, Thailand. This trip to Thailand and Bali has been planned for more than six months our tickets were purchased five months ago, and so far, so good. The airline called and confirmed that we were still going last Thursday and verified our date of birth for security. Sounds like we were all set, right?

Well, just to be safe on Saturday, we called to get seat assignments and make special meal arrangements. To our surprise, they told us our flight to LA had been canceled, and they’d rerouted us to San Francisco and then onto LA. Unfortunately, this change made us 2 hours late for our international flight. Sadly the airline hadn’t put that together till we were on the phone with them.

This is where the benefits of being a proactive kick in. You see, because we’d called on Saturday, we could have our entire trip rebooked, leave 18 hours earlier, and still get to our destination in time for our planned activities. Being proactive saved us time and a huge amount of stress, not to mention a total interruption in our trip.

In business, it’s no different; things often change, no matter what you expect or even have in writing. In our office, we confirm, confirm, and then reconfirm. We do this simply to sure that the closings we’re asked to coordinate occur, that delays are minimized and that when there has to be a change, it doesn’t come at the last minute on the way to a closing that is now not going to happen.

Being proactive also allows you to control your day and function much higher. Planning the calls, handling any issues, and having plenty of time to work through them is a far less stressful way to manage a day. Yes, I know real estate can be challenging, things change, and the nature of the business alone can be stressful, but with a proactive approach, planning versus reacting, you’ll have far less stress and more time for activities that will make the phone ring. Or simply some time off for a vacation somewhere fun and exotic.