The Honey Badger Doesn't Fight Everything. Neither Should You.

Let’s recap for a moment before we pick up where we left off last week with the honey badger:

We have a bias for action. And when we’re taking action …

We focus, staying on target just like Luke Skywalker and his wingman Wedge. Recall the brood chamber and a face full of honey bees.

And with that focus and action, we move forward into …

Well, a honey badger that is known for facing incredible odds, fighting off elephants and lions, coyotes and pythons … and while that might conjure a certain perception of our little furry, stink-bomb dropping, friend … the perception is not an accurate one.

Survival in the wild isn’t born out of waking up on the wrong side of the bed every day and twice on Wednesday. It doesn’t involve picking fights with everything. So while you may initially think that the honey badger is just ornery and fights everything it comes across, you would be mistaken.

Even though they are tough, Honey Badgers are opportunistic and smart. They are incredibly good at risk assessment, and they conserve energy because without that … they, and every other animal, can’t survive.

So, are they effective because they’re aggressive and don’t take guff from anyone?

Or are they effective because they’re incredibly skilled at selective engagement?

How can you translate that into your business?

Indulge my hyperbole for a moment but … What are you doing that is putting your survival at risk? Where are you wasting energy?

Regardless of whether you attained your hard-won success because you were aggressive and didn’t give up … what got you here will not get you there.

What fights are you picking that you could simply walk away from? Why is every hill worth dying on? What tasks feel urgent but don’t move the business toward your goals? Where and when are you engaging when you should instead be taking a different approach? If it doesn’t lead to the brood chamber and your milkshake, you’re wasting energy and compromising your survival.

Honestly this is like parenting for me. I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely not a laid-back parent … but I strive to be.

How I fight against that is by constantly, and I do mean constantly, asking myself

Is this worth making a fuss about?

Is this hill worth dying on? My wife doesn’t seem to think so … why do I think so?

For your business in the next week:

Instead of asking what else you can do to move things forward, start looking at what you’re doing that you don’t need to.

Do you really need to step in and fix that employee’s problem?

Should you be printing and stapling things?

Are you channeling your inner honey badger and exercising selective engagement?

If your survival depended on how well you used your time and energy … and in so many ways it actually does … is this how you would spend it?

Would my wife agree with you?

The attorney who personally responds to every client email, steps in every time an associate struggles, and fights every billing dispute isn't being thorough. She's spending energy that belongs somewhere else. The financial advisor who attends every networking event, chases every referral regardless of fit, and never says no to a prospective client isn't being diligent. He's just busy. The honey badger doesn't fight everything. It fights the right things. The question isn't whether you're working hard enough. It's whether you're picking the right fights.

Hit reply or reach out. What's one fight you're picking right now that you could simply walk away from?