Business Lessons from The Odyssey: Navigating Detours, Distractions, and the Occasional Cyclops7/27/2026  Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has brought a new audience to one of the world’s oldest stories. If you aren’t one of the 7.5 million people (so far) who have seen the movie, we’ll give you a quick recap. The film follows Odysseus as he attempts to return home after the Trojan War.
He’s filled with the hubris of having conquered what was considered an impenetrable city. His cunning idea for defeating the enemy turns out to be the easiest part of that adventure. On his trip home, he encounters monsters, temptations, poor decisions, wounded egos, and bad directions. Most business owners will recognize the experience. You begin with a destination in mind. Then the market changes, an employee leaves, costs increase, technology shifts, or a seemingly simple project develops unbelievable complications. One minute we can be riding high from a business win and overcoming unbelievable odds and the next wondering if we’ll ever be able to have a normal life again. The Odyssey offers a few lessons for anyone trying to steer a business through uncertain waters. Focus on the Destination Odysseus knows where he wants to go—home. He doesn’t know exactly how he will get there. His route changes repeatedly, sometimes because of circumstances and occasionally because he’s made his own life more difficult. Still, the destination remains clear. Business owners need that same clarity. Your destination might be building a company that supports your family, becoming the most trusted provider in your market, creating jobs, or eventually selling the business. That larger purpose helps you evaluate opportunities and recover from setbacks. Plans will change. Your expected path may be blocked but your destination should guide you as you make needed changes. When a new opportunity appears, ask whether it moves the business closer to where you want it to go. A profitable distraction can take you badly off course. Protect Yourself from the Sirens The Sirens represent an especially familiar business danger: something appealing enough to pull you away from good judgment. Modern business Sirens don’t sing from rocky islands. They arrive as new platforms, complicated marketing tactics, questionable partnerships, and exciting projects that have little connection to your actual goals. They could also be as innocent as your friend telling you that you work too hard and you need a break. Then that break turns into a backlog of monstrous proportions, taking you off your track. Odysseus knows he will be tempted, so he creates safeguards before temptation arrives. You can do the same. After all, building a business is a difficult undertaking and you won’t always recognize the “Sirens” at first glance. That’s why you should establish criteria for new opportunities. Create spending limits. Schedule regular reviews of your priorities. Ask a trusted adviser, mentor, or peer to challenge major decisions. Willpower is unreliable. It can work one day and evaporate the next under different circumstances. A good system can keep the ship moving while your attention is being courted by the latest shiny object. Keep Ego in Check or It Can Create a Bigger Problem (Tiny spoiler alert: although if you were paying attention in English class or just know the hero can’t die in the middle of the film then this isn’t really a spoiler.) After escaping the Cyclops, Odysseus can’t resist revealing his identity and taunting the creature. It gives him a satisfying moment but creates years of additional trouble. Business owners sometimes have their own proud moments that set them back. You might respond publicly to an unfair review and try way too hard to prove you are right. Or continue an argument with a difficult customer. You might reject useful feedback because of how it was delivered or pursue a competitor instead of serving their own customers. You don’t have to attend every argument to which you’re invited. Before reacting, consider the business cost. Winning the moment may damage your reputation, consume your time, or distract your team. Sometimes the smartest move is simply to keep going. Carry Your Own Armor One of the strongest leadership lessons connected with the film comes from its production. Christopher Nolan reportedly made the same steep daily hike to the set that he expected from the cast and crew. Matt Damon also shared that after allowing a wardrobe assistant to carry his armor on the first day, he realized how the choice looked, apologized, and carried it himself from then on. Business leadership is highly visible. Employees notice whether the owner (or manager) follows the standards everyone else is expected to meet. Leading by example shows that no one is above responsibility, respect, or the occasional inconvenient climb. Your team is more likely to carry the weight when they know you’re willing to carry yours. And by carrying it you also get an idea of what it’s like to be in their shoes. It may even give you a different way to see your operation. After all, the guy in the rear has a much different view than they guy at the head of an army. Value the People Who Help You Get Home Odysseus knows that no epic journey is completed alone. Many hands make light work. The same is true in business. Customers, employees, vendors, mentors, community partners, fellow business owners, and even the chamber of commerce staff all contribute to your progress. Nolan’s cast has spoken about the collaborative environment behind the film, including the importance of taking ownership, learning from experienced colleagues, and giving people room to do their best work. That’s where involvement in your chamber can become especially valuable. Chamber membership gives you access to people who understand the local market, can recommend resources, share experience, make introductions, and help you navigate challenges. Those relationships may not eliminate every storm, but they can keep you from facing them alone. Expect an Odessey Most businesses don’t grow according to the tidy timeline written in the original plan just as Odysseus didn’t conquer Troy and spend the next night sleeping peacefully in his bed. The road to success can be long. There’ll be detours. Some will be unavoidable. Others will come from choices that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time but turn out to take you miles out of your way. Keep your destination/goal visible. Build safeguards against distraction. Leave ego behind whenever possible. Carry your share of the load. Stay connected to the people who can help you move forward. The journey may take longer than expected, but strong businesses can’t be built by avoiding every obstacle. You use each obstacle to learn how to navigate the next one. Christina Metcalf is a writer and women’s speaker who believes in the power of story. She works with small businesses, chambers of commerce, and business professionals who want to make an impression and grow a loyal customer/member base. She is the author of The Glinda Principle, rediscovering the magic within. _______________________________________ Medium: @christinametcalf Facebook: /metcalfwriting Instagram: @christinametcalfauthor LinkedIn: /in/christinametcalf5/
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 Have you paid attention to search results recently? Not yours, but the results you receive when you search for something. If so, you’ve probably noticed Google summarizes sources to give a quick, general answer before listing any page results. And it doesn’t stop there. People are turning to their AI of choice to get immediate answers without having to sort through all the noise that a general search sometimes provides.
That means artificial intelligence is now deciding what’s valuable and what isn’t. Whether someone asks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, or another AI assistant for the best accountant, florist, restaurant, or marketing consultant in town, those tools don’t simply pull answers from one website. They compare information from dozens of sources, looking for consistency, authority, and clarity before deciding what to recommend. Before you start lamenting you’ll never be found, know that many of the most effective strategies are things you can do for yourself. 1. Make Sure AI Can Find Your Website It sounds obvious, but many businesses assume if their website can be found by Google, AI tools can easily access it too. That’s not always the case. Search tools rely on discovering and understanding your website before they can reference it. If your site has technical issues, pages that aren’t being indexed, or settings that prevent automated systems from accessing your content, you could be invisible without realizing it. You don’t need to become a web developer, but it’s worth using free website auditing tools to identify obvious problems. If your website platform offers an SEO dashboard, spend a few minutes reviewing any warnings. (Watch a YouTube video if you’re unsure on how to use it.) Also make sure you’ve submitted your sitemap through the major search engine webmaster tools so new pages are discovered quicker. Before your business can be recommended, it must be invited into the conversation. 2. Keep Business Information Consistent Imagine asking five people for directions and getting five different addresses. You wouldn’t know where to go or which directions to follow. That’s essentially what happens when AI encounters conflicting information about your business. If your website lists one phone number, a business directory lists another, and an old social media profile still has last year’s address, AI must decide which information is correct. Your website doesn’t automatically win the argument. Take time to review your business listings across the web. Check your:
Make sure your business name, address, phone number, website, and hours are consistent everywhere. It also helps to search for your business name online occasionally. You may discover outdated articles, old directory listings, or mentions with incorrect information that you can request to have updated. 3. Make Your Best Information Easy to Find You know your products and services so well that you may be accidentally hiding the answers customers are looking for. If someone lands on your website, can they immediately understand:
AI has the same challenge. So you want to make it easy for potential customers and AI to get to the heart of what you do and who you do it for. You can do this by adhering to the following: Instead of burying important details in long paragraphs, organize your pages with clear headings and short sections. Answer common customer questions directly. Include pricing ranges when appropriate. Explain your services in plain language rather than relying on industry jargon. This is why so many sites use FAQs. A well-organized page isn’t just easier for visitors to read. It’s also easier for AI to understand and reference. 4. Become Known for Something Stop trying to appeal to everyone. The riches are in the niches. The internet already has millions of articles about general business topics (partly due to the increase in AI-generated content). Competing with them is nearly impossible, nor do you want to. Instead, lean into your expertise whatever that may be. For example: If you’re a landscaping company, become the local authority on drought-tolerant yards. If you’re a CPA, maybe you can specialize in helping first-time business owners understand taxes. If you’re a wealth advisor, you might become the expert in helping families set up trusts for their medically dependent adult children. Or your bakery might become the place for custom gluten-free cakes. The more specific your expertise, the easier it becomes for search engines, AI tools, and potential customers to recognize when you’re the right answer. Specific beats generic almost every time. 5. Keep Your Website Fresh An outdated website sends the wrong message. If your newest blog post is from three years ago, your last event on the calendar happened in 2022, or you’re still advertising products you no longer offer, AI may question your validity. If you can, publish new content on a consistent basis. But if you’re short on time make small changes such as updating service pages, adding recent projects, refreshing staff photos, or answering new customer questions. These updates can demonstrate that your business is active and engaged. Fresh, accurate information gives both customers and AI greater confidence in recommending your business. Small Website Improvements Add Up Many business owners assume improving their online visibility requires hiring an SEO agency. While professional help certainly has its place, the fundamentals remain surprisingly achievable. A website that’s easy to understand, consistent business information across the web, clear organization, focused expertise, and regularly updated content all help build credibility with both people and AI. These days you’re writing for the “Bobs” as well as the bots. Both are critical to your ability to get found. So stop blindly throwing money at search and start getting clear on who you help, where, why, and how. Everyone will appreciate the new-found simplicity. Christina Metcalf is a writer and women’s speaker who believes in the power of story. She works with small businesses, chambers of commerce, and business professionals who want to make an impression and grow a loyal customer/member base. She is the author of The Glinda Principle, rediscovering the magic within. _______________________________________ Facebook: @metcalfwriting Instagram: @christinametcalfauthor LinkedIn: @christinametcalf5  How many of your daily business tasks are things you do to keep your business open, not to advance it forward?
 You might think your best customers already know everything your business does. After all, they’ve bought from you before. They follow you on social media. They’re on your email list. They’ve been in your store, visited your website, or worked with your team. Maybe they’ve event sent work your way.
But they probably don’t know nearly as much as you think they do. Everyone’s busy these days. Your business is central to you. If you’re fortunate, to your customers, your business is just one part of a very full day filled with work, family, errands, bills, appointments, deadlines, and scrolling on social media. Small business owners often assume that if they’ve mentioned a product, service, upgrade, event, or special once, their audience knows about it. Most people need to hear something several times, in several ways, before it truly registers. Then they need a few more sightings before they act on it. That means one of your biggest growth opportunities may not be finding a brand-new audience. It may be helping the people who already like and trust you understand more of what you can do for them. Think about the customer who comes to a bakery every Saturday for pastries but has no idea the store also makes corporate gift boxes. Or the homeowner who hires a landscaping company for mowing but doesn’t realize it offers seasonal cleanups, irrigation checks, or holiday lighting. Or the client who works with an accounting firm once a year at tax time but doesn’t know it can help with bookkeeping, payroll, or business planning. If a loyal customer doesn’t know these things about your business, you have a communication problem. Existing customers are your warmest audience. They already know you and have decided you are worth paying. But if they don’t know the full range of what you offer, they can’t buy it, ask about it, or refer people to it. You don’t need a complicated marketing funnel to fix this; just better visibility inside the customer relationships you currently have. Appealing to Your CustomersStart by looking at your customer interactions. Where do people already encounter your business? Your receipts, invoices, email signatures, appointment reminders, packaging, menus, waiting area, website, voicemail, social media bios, and follow-up emails are all places where customers can learn something useful. For example, instead of a receipt that reads “thank you,” a retailer could add, “Ask us about private shopping appointments.” A service business could include a short note on invoices: “We also offer maintenance plans for ongoing support.” A salon could include a seasonal reminder in its appointment confirmation: “Need color, conditioning, or bridal styling? We can help with that too.” This is helpful. You’re not shouting “buy more from us.” You’re giving gentle reminders to people who already like you by saying, “Here are other ways we may be able to help.” You can also create simple “Did You Know?” content. This works well in newsletters, social posts, lobby signs, short videos, and even table tents. The format is easy and direct: “Did you know we also offer delivery?” “Did you know we can create custom orders?” “Did you know members receive early access?” “Did you know we handle repairs, not just new installations?” These reminders may feel obvious to you because you live inside your business every day. Your customers don’t. What feels repetitive to you may be the first time they’ve heard it. Another strong strategy is to organize your services by customer need instead of by internal category. Many businesses list what they sell, but customers are usually looking for a solution to a problem, not a list they have to search and apply to their problem. Instead of simply saying, “We offer design, printing, signage, and promotional products,” a business could say, “Planning an event? We can help with banners, invitations, branded giveaways, programs, and directional signage.” That kind of framing helps people connect the dots. It turns a list into a solution that customers can easily act on. It’s also worth training your team to mention related products or services in a natural way. Not every interaction needs to be but staff can be trained to listen for opportunities. If a customer mentions they’re planning a party, your team can say, “Just so you know, we also do custom trays.” If someone books one service, your team can mention the next logical service. If a customer buys a product that requires maintenance, your staff can explain what support is available. The key is relevance. Good cross-selling feels like service. Bad cross-selling feels like someone trying to meet a quota. Cleaning HouseYour website deserves attention too. Many business websites hide valuable offerings under vague tabs or buried pages. Make sure your homepage clearly communicates who you help, what you offer, and what customers should do next. If someone has to hunt for your services, they probably won’t. Most of us are not known for our patience when we’re looking for something specific. You can also use stories to educate customers. Instead of only announcing services, show examples. Share a short post about how you helped a client prepare for a big event, solve a last-minute problem, refresh a space, save time, or choose the right option. Stories make your offerings easier to remember because they show the service in action. Don’t bombard your customers; just make your business easier to understand and work with. Before spending more money trying to reach strangers hoping they’ll like you, take a closer look at the people who already do. What do they buy from you now? What else might they need? What do they still not know? Where could you add a helpful reminder, a clearer explanation, or a better invitation? Your best customers may be ready to do more business with you. They may be happy to refer you. They may even need exactly what you offer. But they can’t act on what they don’t know. Christina Metcalf is a writer and women’s speaker who believes in the power of story. She works with small businesses, chambers of commerce, and business professionals who want to make an impression and grow a loyal customer/member base. She is the author of The Glinda Principle, rediscovering the magic within. _______________________________________ Facebook: @metcalfwriting Instagram: @christinametcalfauthor LinkedIn: @christinametcalf5  There’s no shortage of technology available to today’s business owners and if you can’t find what you need today, wait around a minute and it will undoubtedly appear. (If not, the tech exists that you could probably create it yourself with some AI coding tool.)
Artificial intelligence can write marketing copy. Social media platforms can target customers with remarkable precision. Search engines can help people find almost anything they want in seconds. Businesses can automate emails, schedule posts, manage inventory, and even answer customer questions without human intervention. Yet despite this awesome technology (and some of it is mind-blowing), one of the most powerful business growth tools remains surprisingly old-fashioned. Relationships. In a world increasingly driven by algorithms and screen time, local connections continue to create opportunities that technology alone can’t replicate. The Difference Between Visibility and Trust Technology can help people discover your business. Relationships help them choose it. A potential customer might find ten companies online that offer the same service. They may read reviews, compare websites, and browse social media pages. But when a trusted friend, colleague, neighbor, or fellow business owner makes a recommendation, the decision becomes much easier. Trust is invaluable and relationships cement that trust when it comes to businesses. Consumers are exposed to thousands of marketing messages daily. Most of us have learned to tune out advertising, skip promotions, and question online claims. Personal recommendations, however, still carry tremendous weight because they come from real people with real experiences. That kind of trust can’t be purchased through an ad campaign. Local Relationships Create Unexpected Opportunities Networking is more than simply exchanging business cards while attending events. A conversation at a chamber event may lead to a partnership six months later. A fellow member might introduce you to a major client. A volunteer project could connect you with community leaders who become advocates for your business. The strongest business relationships often develop long before there’s an immediate opportunity attached to them. There’s generally a give, give, give before a need surfaces. Then relationships create familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. Trust opens doors. While algorithms are designed to deliver likely matches for searches, community relationships often create opportunities no software could’ve anticipated. People Want to Do Business with PeopleTechnology has made transactions more efficient, but efficiency isn’t always the deciding factor. Customers want to feel valued and know who they’re supporting. They want to have confidence that someone will be there if a problem arises. A local business owner is often more than a vendor. They’re a neighbor, community supporter, volunteer, sponsor, mentor, or familiar face at local events. Those human connections create loyalty that extends far beyond price comparisons. An online retailer may promise next-day delivery and a slightly lower price. But many customers continue supporting businesses they know because relationships provide something that convenience alone cannot. And no one understands that better than someone who has ordered an item that seemed too good to be true on Facebook. They’ll only do that once. Community Involvement Builds Business StrengthSupporting local events, participating in community initiatives, volunteering, and joining organizations like the chamber can increase visibility while strengthening relationships. These activities allow people to see the faces behind the business. They demonstrate commitment to the community and create opportunities for meaningful conversations outside of a sales environment. People naturally prefer to support businesses that invest in the places where they live and work. Because of that, community engagement should be seen as a long-term business strategy. The Competitive Advantage That Can’t Be AutomatedAs artificial intelligence and automation continue to evolve, many business processes will become faster and more efficient. Business owners need to embrace tools that help them operate more effectively. But there is one thing technology cannot fully replace. It cannot attend a community event and build genuine rapport. It cannot shake hands, listen to concerns, remember personal details, or provide a comforting hug during tough times. And even with all its efficiencies, it can’t trump trust that’s developed over years of interaction. Claude will never be a respected member of a local business community. The businesses that thrive in the years ahead will combine the best of both worlds. They’ll use technology to improve efficiency while investing in relationships that strengthen their reputation and expand their opportunities. Algorithms may help people find your business, but relationships will give them a reason to want to buy from you. And in a competitive market, we all need something that gives us an advantage. Christina Metcalf is a writer and women’s speaker who believes in the power of story. She works with small businesses, chambers of commerce, and business professionals who want to make an impression and grow a loyal customer/member base. She is the author of The Glinda Principle, rediscovering the magic within. _______________________________________ Facebook: @metcalfwriting Instagram: @christinametcalfauthor LinkedIn: @christinametcalf5 |
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