Swords Slice Both Ways
Your MSP business doesn’t need to worry so much about being trendy, but being authentic. To be authentic, there must be an honorable quality to operations— they must be honest and true.
The truth is a delicate thing. It’s good to care for the poor, but it isn’t good to enable degenerate activity. Where’s the balance? It’s in providing those who are in the worst areas of life a way to pull themselves out, if only they’ll put forth the barest effort and keep at it.
Well, with many traditions that hail from the Far East, you’ll find that there are some similar circumstances. Certainly, aspects of Eastern philosophy are off-base–like Karma killing, a concept that has come to headline a new Netflix documentary. If you’re unfamiliar, the concept of a Karma killing is basically this: some person has become so evil that killing them gives the killer good karma.
Karma is the idea that you reap what you sow; you get out what you put in, what goes around comes around. It isn’t exactly like Western ideals, but it’s similar–and it’s a good concept– treat others the way you would like to be treated. However, the point-system ideal that could lead to a theology of life liquidation is surely toxic. So the truth is, there is good and bad to be taken from such Eastern spiritual philosophies, and it’s much the same with your MSP business.
Eastern philosophies, such as Buddhism, wouldn’t persist if they didn’t have truth mixed in with the fringe elements. Several things you can take directly from this way of thinking and apply to your MSP include:
- Proper intention
- Correct action
- Requisite mindfulness
Proper Intention
Your business needs to come at operations with the proper intention. Obviously, you’ve got the passion for technology, which is good. Obviously, you’ve identified a niche and are filling it. You’re likely looking to profit and continue profiting as long as you can. This is also good, but are you looking to profit legitimately or “at all costs”? If the former, excellent. If the latter, your intentions are going to end up undermining you.
Dig a hole, and you might just fall in. If you’re overselling or underserving clients, you’re going to lose them and you’ll damage your reputation in the marketplace. While you may see high short-end returns, you’re likely going to have dismal long-term ones. The only way to get there is through operations, service provision, sales, and organization that come from the right intention.
Correct Action
It doesn’t matter how well your operation is put together or what its intentions are if it fails to take appropriate action when the time comes. You don’t only need to act; you need to act right and at the right time. This takes balance, skill, and time. Experience helps, but if your intentions are properly aligned, you can overcome a lack of experience by always looking to do the right thing and doing it.
Requisite Mindfulness
To do any of these things in a way that is cohesive and effective, you’ll need to have your brain at its best. This means eating right, exercising, sleeping well and taking breaks as necessary. You’ve got to think critically at all times during operations because you’ll find that challenges make the intention and correct action difficult. Discerning between these things can be difficult, especially in marketing. For example, for some clients, it may be right to offer them uncharacteristic discounts. For others, this would be precisely the wrong thing to do. Action and intention could be correct, but if you’re not mindful, you could make the wrong decision. Exercising a tri-fold approach to operations in this way can help you make the best decision throughout many difficult situations.
Operational Inspiration
Your MSP business can learn a lot from the wisdom that silhouettes Eastern mysticism. Just be sure to chew the meat, and spit out the bones. There are unique and considerable strategies from all walks of life out there. Taking a more diverse approach might help you source unconventional but effective means of operation.
