How near are you to the edge of your business cliff? Have your competitors quietly overtaken you and you’ve yet to realise it? It’s so easy to become complacent in business and, when we are doing well, sit back and bask in the glory of our success.
It’s like driving late at night, when the roads are quiet and we feel safe and cosy in our car. In Norfolk we have lots of deer about and so this is the time when they get startled by our headlights and can jump out. Bang! One sore deer, one mangled car.
In my experience as a coach, what makes the best organisations the best, is that they are constantly looking to improve, whatever their level of performance. They see training and innovation as a core to their work and not a bolt-on for Friday afternoons. They see money allocated to such projects as an investment in the future and not a tax on their profits.
Even if we are one person, we can budget for training, conferences and networking. We might not be looking for new sales, but we can go looking for new ideas.
A few weeks ago I was asked to recommend a coach, with my skillset, in the USA. I recommended me and Skype, because a few years back I realised that with Skype the world is my marketplace. Back then people scoffed at me and said it wasn’t real coaching if we weren’t in the same room. Well, it works and the money folds just the same as with any other coaching set up.
This week, find one new idea for your business and make a change, however small, before you’re forced to.
Nest week: Beware the say-do gap