What’s the Bounce Forward Cycle? Public Speaker and Author, Sam Cawthorn, shares his insights.

The bounce cycle is a spiral process that every person and business needs to go through in order to get past their tough times and bounce forward. There are five steps to the cycle and once you get a clear understanding of each individual steps, you’ll begin to understand the importance of the process.

Here, is the bounce cycle model and as you can see it, it uprights in a spiral clockwise rotation. The reason that we’ve done this was to show that we need to bounce back in order to bounce forward. But anyway, let’s unpacked this further.

1. CRISIS

First step of the bounce cycle is the Crisis point. Every business has a crisis or problem within. Be real about that problem. Do not ignore it. Tackle it full on uncover all of its aspects and begin to fix it. Many are not real about the crisis and ignore it or just deal with the surface things of this.

I was recently talking to the owner of a large retail chain. He was the third generation of his business enterprise and they had recently made some really bad decisions. They are focus too much on getting bigger and they neglected everything else. Sometimes, we need to stop focusing on getting bigger and realize that if we get better, our customers will demand us to get bigger. So, the first step of the bounce cycle is this, Crisis.

2. DOWNTURN

The next step is the Downturn. This is the point of make or break. Decisive decisions need to be made in order to bounce. You will have no bounce if tough decisions are not made. This is a crucial time. If your business is changing and the key staff are resisting that change, get rid of them. Seriously. We need to make the tough calls.

And here is a suggestion on how to fire someone, say to them: “Look, I’m going to free your future. I’ve got some great news for you. I’m going to free your future.” Use it.

Here’s another thought, if you are over 40 years old, you are probably not going to recognize the next big idea. You have to create an environment to leverage everyone to think. So, in the midst of a downturn, make sure that tough decisions are being made.

3. BOUNCE

So, you have made it to the point of the cycle where things begin to turn around. This is the Bounce step. This can also be the most trying time because this is the lowest point of the cycle. Sometimes in the lowest point of the cycle, we are blinded by just the basic things like making things better for our customers.

If you are not on a constant mission to make your business better, you’ll become more of a critic of your competitors and eventually, you’ll be threatened by what they are actually trying to do out of the ordinary. Try not to get to that negative bitter place. I’m sure you know what I mean. Just stick to the purpose and mission and you will not regret it. Stay focused because things can just get better from here.

4. OPPORTUNITIES

The next step are the Opportunities. You have got through the most difficult times, things are looking up and more and more opportunities are coming your way. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. When we see someone that has massive success, we sometimes think to ourselves, “Wow! That guy is really lucky.” But luck is actually where preparation is paramount.

Continue to create and innovate and discover the opportunities that are really everywhere. The Chinese have two syllable words for crisis. It’s danger and opportunity. And a crisis equals opportunity. If you look at some of the greatest events that have happened in the history of time, they all derived from a crisis moment. But the cycle doesn’t stop here.

5. BOUNCING FORWARD

The last step of the bounce cycle is the moment of Bouncing Forward. You cannot have the same thinking that got you into the crisis in the first place so it’s not about bouncing back from the crisis. It’s about being a thought leader and enduring the rewards of coming through that bounce cycle and bouncing forward.

Success and significance come from the people that pick themselves up from a crisis. But there’s a difference between success and significance. Success teaches us that it’s all about having a fatter wallet, the bigger car, the better holiday, home, et cetera. But the true meaning of success for me is similar to significance which is this: Making a difference in other people’s lives.

So, in closing, I want you to think of an area where you can be significant. Something that you have bounced forward from. How can you now help and be the significance that you were meant to be?

Thank you. I’m Sam Cawthorn and let’s not only bounce back but let’s bounce forward.

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