A World of Possibilities by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC
Staying successful in business requires constantly evolving to stay in step with the market, the competition and the trends. One of the obstacles that can get in the way of growing your business and keeping it successful is your own unintentional narrow thinking. It is human nature to want to continue to do things the way you’ve always done them.
Making a conscious effort to break out of your normal thinking routine is one of the least expensive and best ways to see opportunities and possibilities to improve your business. Here are a few simple ways to help break your regular thinking routine.
1. Take a look outside your industry. We tend to evaluate our own processes, procedures and even our goals by how others in our own industry do business. Sometimes, however, you can find new and better ways of doing things by looking at other industries. In particular, it can be helpful to see how other industries measure their success and how they market to their customers.
2. Take a look at anything you haven’t changed in the last 24 months. Most of the time, we have the attitude that if something isn’t broken we shouldn’t fix it. However, when we fail to routinely evaluate our ways of doing things, we run the risk that we won’t notice something that actually is broken. For example, are you still running advertising through exactly the same channels? If so, when did you last evaluate how much business you receive from those channels? Take a look and see if it makes sense to switch up your advertising routine a little.
3. Look at a business that failed. Conversely, it’s a good idea to evaluate a business that didn’t make it to get ideas from a negative perspective. Evaluate the reasons a similar business failed to see if you’re making any of the same mistakes. This can be a really eye opening tool and can help you to fix problems before these become significant.
The key to keeping your business fresh and up to date is making sure you don’t get too comfortable in any of your routines. A successful business person is always looking for new and better ways to do even the most routine business tasks.