Is Patience Still A Virtue In Business?

In everyday life, there are many instances where it benefits to sit and wait. But what about in the fast-paced world of business? 

Many entrepreneurs will tell you that it’s better to not wait around and ‘strike while the iron is hot’. There are definitely situations where acting fast is necessary such as fixing big mistakes, attempting to stay ahead of competition, and embracing viral trends. But being rash isn’t always productive, and there are times when the proverb ‘patience is a virtue’ still applies. This post takes a look at the times when patience can lead to business success.

Some decisions in business have a lot at stake. It’s important to spend time weighing up your options before making a decision. By taking your time to do research and educate yourself, you can increase the likelihood that you will make the right choice.

For example, if you’re looking to buy new kitchen equipment for your restaurant, you don’t want to just buy the first equipment you can find online. It could be important to research different types of equipment, compare pricing, read reviews and possibly involve your chefs in the process so that you buy equipment that they are happy to use.

You don’t always have time to do a lot of research. In these situations, being fast and decisive can be a benefit. However, you should still weigh up what information you have instead of taking a gamble. 

For instance, in the event of a cyberattack, you may not have much time to act. However, there are still cybersecurity companies out there that you can contact to get immediate support – which could be important if you know little about how ransomware or network attacks work.

Business growth often requires patience. Too many business owners are too eager to grow their business. This can lead to spending too much money too fast – resulting in a lot of debt and not enough revenue to pay it off. 

Entrepreneurs need to remember that a business is an investment. Taking your time to build strong business foundations can help you to build a more robust business that can withstand any disaster. By then approaching growth slowly and steadily, you can then reduce the risk of it collapsing.

Putting off a task because you’re not fully prepared yet can be a form of patience. However, putting off a task simply because it’s tedious or unpleasant is procrastination. It’s important that you’re not delaying tasks that you have the resources to do now – as this will harm your business. In fact, dealing with the most unpleasant tasks first can build patience. 

There can be times when it’s beneficial to prepare now and act later. For example, there may be an optimum time to launch a new product – preparing now and delaying your launch for the right time could get you more customers. This isn’t procrastination, but the perfect example of patience.

To become more patient, you need to stop seeking out instant gratification and consider what is best in the long run. Make sure that every decision is calculated and take the time to research and prepare. Using analytics, brainstorming, building checklists and collecting feedback from people around you are all great ways to prepare and research. 

Get used to doing unpleasant tasks first, so that you can look forward to the more enjoyable tasks. This is something you can practise in business and everyday life – many household chores are less arduous if you do them now, rather than waiting until dishes or laundry pile up.

There are many games that can train us to be patient. Solitaire is a card game that is sometimes referred to as ‘patience’, because it relies on forward planning and not always doing the most tempting move first. Chess similarly teaches patience by requiring players to think several moves ahead and wait for the perfect opportunity to make the right move.

Patience is a virtue in business as it is in everyday life. It is essential to good decision making and business growth. There are times when you need to act fast in business in order to take advantage of small windows of opportunity. But even in these cases, it’s often still possible to gather some information first. By training yourself to be more patient, you could find that you run a more successful business.

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