better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

Delayed Gratification

1 February 2015

Are you a little bit peckish? Would you like a snack right now? Maybe a delicious cheese sandwich, with fresh bread, rich butter and strong tasty cheddar cheese. Imagine that sandwich, in your hand and you’re about to take the first bite…smell the aroma of warm bread, imagine the sensation of biting into the cheese and tasting the sandwich…

…Can you smell the bread? Is your mouth asking your brain to stop reading this and rush to the fridge?

How long can you hold out, before you have to go and find something tasty to nibble on?

How long can you delay your gratification for?

More than 10 minutes?

The concept of delayed gratification is about not accepting a small reward now, in order to secure a greater reward later. For example, we can avoid the snack now and then have a decent meal later.

Business success links to delayed gratification. People who stick to cool logic and play the long game may be more successful than those who let emotions override their caution and satisfy themselves now.

My first business mentor used to tell me a story about two chaps who set themselves up in business. On day one in the morning they went to the bank and signed on the line for a substantial start-up loan. In the afternoon they went to the Jaguar garage and each signed on the line for a hand-stitched leather-clad executive purr-mobile. After all, they were Directors so they needed a Director-level car, right?

How successful do you think their business was?*

So, this week practice delayed gratification and don’t reach for the coffee cup at the first notion of hot beans. Instead, take a minute to think about your business and what you can delay…and really think if the item in question is a ‘nice to have’ or a ‘must have’. Which option makes for really good business?

Next week: The Facilitation Game

*They tanked.