"Study the art of taking a lemon
and making lemonade."
-- Albert K Strong
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In my business we are exposed to a
wide variety of small and medium sized businesses. I have found a number
of business owners and managers who are stuck in a thinking pattern
that has them constantly looking at problems with little or no hope of
successfully overcoming them. The reason there isn't much hope is that
the problems are "industry-wide," or it is the local, city, regional,
state, or national economy, and more. All of these are much larger than
the business owner, so the odds are overwhelming. This makes for a good
excuse that almost everyone will accept as real, or reality. After all,
what's a small business to do in the face of such odds?
I said
almost everyone, because I don't accept it as real, or even seriously
legitimate. I say, there's always a way. And there is if people are
willing to step outside of their own thinking and situation for a short
spell and take a look from a refreshed and different perspective.
I'll
quote a piece from John Mayer's famous song: "Now we see everything
that's going wrong with the world and those who lead it. We just feel
like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it, so we keep
waiting. . . waiting on the world to change." Of course, all you have to
wait is a nanosecond and it is changed. The reality is that it is
constantly changing, but somehow we want to stand still and have the
world change for us.
Getting outside your routine for a bit and
looking in on your business instead of being inside looking out is a
requirement to see things differently. There is such an advantage to
this. Hiring a consultant to do this for you can be even more
beneficial. Fresh eyes and attitude can make a world of difference.
It
surprises me how many people I find in business who are negative about
their business and/or industry. It surprises me that they stay in
business. I'm asking why? If it is that bad, why do you remain? Only you
can choose. But, I do get it. We are around a thing long enough and
some things rub off and become part of who we are at the moment.
So,
here's the deal: Wake up! Get a new perspective. See if there is a
better way, a more profitable way, get some excitement going again. This
may require jumping out of your routine, hiring someone from the
outside, going off to a retreat with your team as examples. Whatever it
is, get into it and on with it! Life is way too short to not like what
you're doing, or who you've become. Shut off the outside negative
influences such as the news, newspapers, talk radio and such. Avoid
those negative friends for a while. Get a new lease on your life and
your business and watch what happens!
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