At times we allow the negative noise of the flat economy to drown out any positive, on-key music in our businesses.

Soon the negative noise has an effect on you. You become filled with:

Fears about finances—"The bank called. Surely they’re not calling in my note."

Suspicions about an employee—"He sure talks about our competition a lot."

Mistrust of a vendor—"She says she’s doing me a special favor with this contract, but…"

What’s a business owner to do?

One cold winter’s night, I was sitting in my favorite recliner at home, trying to have a conversation with my wife. She was seated in the chair next to me with only a lamp table between us.

Suddenly I realized that I was yelling to be heard. I listened around the room for a moment and discovered why. First, the TV was on, blaring through our speaker system. It had to be on loud enough to be heard over the fan that was blowing hot air from the gas logs. Because the gas logs were on and dry out the air, we were running a humidifier with its fan blowing. Throw in a couple of daughters talking, and it’s no wonder I was yelling.

So I got up out of my recliner and turned off the humidifier, turned back the fan blowing hot air from the gas logs, turned down the TV, and said, "Shhh" to our daughters. Then I sat back down, smiled at my wife, and said, "There, that’s better. Where were we?"

You can do the same with regard to your business.

First, identify the negative noises. Do what I did—analyze the room. Pick out the negative noises. What are they—news reports? An employee? A friend? You’ll know them when you hear them. Pay attention to your own irritability, or nausea, or headaches, or negative attitude that increases after you’re exposed to them.

Second, cut them down or off. Just like I did, you’ll have to get up from where you are and move towards where you want to be. You can choose to turn off the morning TV news—push media—and instead go online and select only those stories you choose to read or watch—pull media. You can confront your employee about that negative attitude. You can limit your exposure to your sky-is-falling friend. Get up and cut them off.

Third, focus on the positive. I returned to my recliner and my conversation with my wife. I chose to listen to her instead of the noise. Pick one positive dynamic in your business and listen to it. A customer’s testimonial letter. An employee’s thank you. A positive third quarter. Fix your thoughts on these on-key musical selections instead of the negativity that a flat economy sings.

Choose these three ways to make your business sing on-key despite the flat economy and watch your profits crescendo!