The problem is that in this ever more fluid business world, the risk of getting passed by gets higher and higher. Others now almost surely will do those things you forget, and eventually will steal your business. Procrastination sets in. Owners begin to wait for outside influences to change, when they ignored these earlier on and did the right things. They now look to others to make decisions.
Tomorrow is soon enough, when, in the beginning, it got done today.
No action becomes more accommodating to their current lifestyle rather than making that tough decision today they really know they need to make. Where owners fought for everything in the beginning, the struggle becomes too much trouble. The visit to the customer, the talk with the employee, the negotiation with the supplier, the evaluation of the financials, the meeting, and the planning, are all somehow less important. Where, in the beginning, all of these things were foremost in your mind, they have taken a back seat now to community affairs, long, meaningless conversations, golf, getting in late, leaving early, longer lunches, and generally deferring decisions that really need to be made. None of these luxuries were prevalent when you started the business.