strategy

Businesses, Like Cars, Operate Best When Driven, Not Coasting

[pullquote align=”normal” cite=”Walt Disney”]We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.[/pullquote]

The market is constantly evolving, and staying on top of the changes is practically a full-time job in and of itself. In such a mercurial landscape, staying attached to sacred cows or outdated systems isn’t going to do you any favors. In fact, it’s just going to hold you back. Taking the time to upgrade your thinking and enhance your perspective could mean the difference between finding the success you’ve been craving, and falling victim to the undertow of the marketplace.

Staying relevant is a marketplace imperative. If you’re not relevant, you lose the interest of your customers, which is something that no business can afford. In fact, it can be argued that in addition to having a quality product/service to offer to customers, you also need to engage them. You need to continually be drawing them in, keeping them intrigued.

This is especially difficult for industry leaders who have been doing it for years, even decades. How do you stay up to date on current trends? How can you remain knowledgeable of what’s coming up just around the corner? Well, there’s a couple of different ways that you can do this.

Involve Your Team

First, include your team in some aspects of the decision-making progress. Collaboration with skilled team members grants you access to new perspectives and introduces new elements into your discussions at the ideation stage. Marcus, a lighting company CEO, made this shift and hated being challenged at first; then he saw how the ideas that were being suggested weren’t intended to rankle him but simply to improve the business. It’s impossible for you to know everything, but having a team of people who are helping you keep on top of things gives you a constant influx of new and useful information. Create an environment of open communication where your team feels comfortable enough to come to you with new ideas.

Sometimes you and your direct reports may find yourselves stuck in a mental rut and need to look outside of your circle for that vital inspiration. New marketplace demands may require you to invest some time, energy, and resources into updating skills, outsourcing tasks, or bringing in new talent.

Some leaders wait too long to take these measures because change is often intimidating, and by its unfamiliar nature, hard to precisely control. Just like you encounter more difficulties and risk when you re-pot a plant after it’s outgrown its current container instead of when it’s showing potential for new growth, you ought to start updating skills and bringing in new talent when your company is in a growth cycle, not when it’s reached a plateau. Momentum should be harnessed to your advantage, yet so few maximize that opportunity.

Stay Curious

Lastly, as a leader, it’s critical to your success to stay curious and open. Think you’ve got that handled? Great!  What have you read recently that’s substantial? What new ideas have you taken away from conversations with your people or leaders outside your company? How much time have you spent on strategic issues in the last 2 months? By keeping tabs on new releases and new trends, you’ll have a better idea of what it will take for you and your company to stay up to date in the marketplace.


About Grow Business Now

At Grow Business Now, we work with senior leaders of privately held companies with scalable business models who want to overcome the 6 big obstacles to growth in record time.

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