Entrepreneur Mentality – The Circles of Influence

There is a ton of great literature out there on how to train yourself to think the way of the successful elite and on top of that, there is coaching and training sources to guide those to whom it may not come naturally. Some of these tricks of the brain are more useful than others and some of them certainly stand out. 

One of our favourites is the Circles of Influence thought process. This is particularly useful for those who have anxiety or stress in their working lives which may be causing productivity and peace of mind to suffer. This concept is sometimes also referred to as the Circles of Control.

The general idea here is that your concerns usually clearly fit within one of three circles. The largest circle is all of the things that concern you. If we keep this business focussed, then let’s assume it’s all the things that concern your business. Anything outside of that circle isn’t a concern of yours. 

Now the two circles inside of your large circle of concern are where the thinking happens. The smallest circle is the circle of control. This represents the portion of your concerns you have control over. For example, you are concerned your website isn’t of the standard you want it to be. You can directly control this, you are the business owner and it’s your call to make.

The next is the circle of influence. Concerns that fall within this circle but not within the circle of control are issues that you do not have direct control of and you cannot directly change yourself. But, perhaps you can influence them. Let’s say your concern is that you need more talented or highly skilled staff at your business. You cannot magic them out of thin air, but you can start a recruitment search and advertise that you’re hiring. 

Issues that fall within the circles of concern but outside of the smaller circles, represent the problems many entrepreneurs obsess over and ultimately become stressed or anxious about most of the time. The reason for this is that these concerns cannot be influenced or controlled directly. 

The learning point of all this thinking is that there is a real skill and mental strength in being able to look at a concern you have and plot where it sits in the circles. If you can directly control it, then do something and act immediately. If you can influence it, then do what you can within your power of influence and monitor the concern. If you cannot control or influence something, then it is a concern but not one you can action. As such these issues need to be left at the door. Obsessing or becoming anxious over concerns outside of your influence is wasted energy and often distressing. Learning to separate these and focussing on the concerns within the smaller two circles will make you more productive and provide precious mental stability and peace.