I think the biggest mistake I have made in my business partnership and probably in my life, has been in reacting to people/comments/things/situations, rather than responding.

• Reacting = READY/FIRE/AIM.

• Responding = READY/AIM/FIRE.

Which do you think has more power? Staying centered in an interaction gives us time to listen, observe, think and then respond. It mitigates stress, anger, panic, frustration and a host of other weak emotions.

Reacting means we have stopped listening. And when we stop listening, we stop paying attention to all the other valuable nonverbal cues. It means we have gone inside ourselves and let the interaction trigger something that isn’t healed. The result is an emotional reaction that sucks for everyone involved.

There are so many things you can do on a human level to give your business a strong foundation. This shift is just one of them.

Try it and see what happens. Be an observer first and a participant second. These are seconds or minutes well spent and are a fantastic investment for a fantastic return.