Tag Archives: advice

October 30, 2013 · 10:19 am

Turn The Chair

I was having a coffee with an old friend the other day.  We plopped ourselves down in a couple of overstuffed chairs at one of the local Starbucks to chat and it became apparent in a couple of seconds that the sun was streaming right into her eyes.

Free chair, new fence

(Photo credit: Kentucky Photo File)

I mentioned that fact and asked if she wanted us to relocate.  She sat forward and said “no, if I sit like this it’s not an issue.”  It wasn’t, but since I had no desire to watch her contort herself nor to see her back go out from sitting in an awkward position, I suggested she do something to remedy the situation: turn the chair.

That, in three words, is pretty much what I do.  I help clients to come up with solutions that might not be obvious to them in the moment but which are readily apparent to someone who isn’t caught up in the problem.  Questioning the underlying assumption and changing the paradigm is what many businesspeople fail to do on their own (and what just as many of us do in the “real” world outside of business as well!).  It gets back to the “what if” conversation we explored here a little while ago.

My friend could have sat sideways and waited for the sun to move so it was out of her eyes.  That would have distracted her from our chat at best and left her with a sore back or half blind at worst.  In a sense, it would have been the equivalent of blaming a business failure on a bad marketplace.  When the market turns – when the sun moves – things will be fine.  I don’t think any business really has the luxury of that sort of thinking and turning the business’ figurative chair is how the enterprise can carry on despite unfavorable circumstances.

I’ve been told that consultants are a luxury in good times and unaffordable in bad times.  As you might expect, I disagree.  We’re the folks keeping the sun out of your eyes and the sun is always shining in business.  While we might know a lot about your business (in fact, we need to!), we’re not caught up in the day-to-day, in the politics, or the latest office drama.  We have a different perspective.  Not better – different, and sometimes, that’s all that’s needed to move forward.

That’s my take – what’s yours?

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October 10, 2013 · 10:19 am

I Wonder…

When I talk about meeting new people or potential new hires, I always look for two things which are related to one another. The first is how curious that person is while the second is how they translate the results of that curiosity into cogent thinking. I suppose when I’m hiring I push this second point a little and try to get at how that thinking translated into action (and results). Both of these things come down to that person’s ability to wonder.

The Thinking Man sculpture at Musée Rodin in Paris

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s nice to respect the thinking that got a business or individual to where they are.  For some businesses, continuing to move forward on the basis of the usual patterns of thought can work.  For many, however, it won’t.  Markets change as do market conditions.  More importantly, the technological changes of the last decade and a half have ripped apart and rebuilt almost everything we thought we knew about how to interact with those markets.

The best way to approach business today is with a strong sense of curiosity.  We need to use one phrase a lot:  “I wonder…”  I wonder what would happen if we skipped a trade show and used the money to throw a golf outing.  I wonder what would happen to our sales if we took money out of TV and put it into search and I wonder if the drop in our unaided brand awareness is a big deal.  We need to maintain a mindset I try to foster in brainstorming sessions.  No idea is a”bad” idea.  Maybe some aren’t feasible as expressed but perhaps lurking inside that idea is a nugget of innovative thinking brought about by wondering about a topic.

Ask questions.  It’s a great social media strategy, by the way, since your audience is probably wondering about some of the topics that might help your business grow.  As an aside, it’s an important mindset for us to maintain as people – and citizens – as well.

If you can find a minute or two today, start wondering.  Ask questions.  Don’t dismiss the answers you get out of hand no matter how unfeasible or silly they might seem.  Start a sentence with “I wonder…” and see where it leads.  If you get a chance, tell me how you made out, because I wonder what you think!

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October 1, 2013 · 9:50 am

Any Road

TunesDay, and today it’s one from my favorite Beatle, George Harrison. I was reminded of this song the other day (listening to Further’s version of it) and I knew instantly it was something for today on the screed.  The song is “Any Road” which was written in the late 1980’s but not released until 2003 after George’s early passing in 2001. In case you’re not familiar with it, have a listen:

This one speaks to me both on a personal level as well as to me as someone who works with businesses.  Let’s see if it does to you as well.

But oooeeee it’s a game
Sometimes you’re cool, sometimes you’re lame
Ah yeah it’s somewhere
And if you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there

That’s sort of it on a personal level.  We all have our ups and downs and probably need to focus more on the journey than on the destination.  I went through school knowing I’d be a high school English teacher.  40 years later, I’m a teacher of a very different sort.  I wasn’t quite sure where I was going (and I’m still a trifle confused) but I’m very happy about the road that took me here.

But oh Lord we pay the price
With the spin of the wheel with the roll of  the dice
Ah yeah, you pay your fare
And if you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there

Thinking about that with respect to business, my immediate response was  “well, that won’t work – businesses need far more focus.”  Then I thought of all the great businesses and products that were born out of not knowing where they were going.  The microwave oven, the Post-It note, penicillin, Teflon, the Slinky and others were all accidents.  The inventors didn’t quite know where they were going but the road took them there.  Today we call it “pivoting” but I like George’s notion of it better.

Maybe that’s the point of the song.  Staying calm and focused despite a sense of not exactly knowing where the journey ends is a far better idea than a stubborn adherence to something that might not be working.  Open minds about destinations can erase doubts since the doubts surface when we’re thinking we’re lost.

What’s your take?

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