Forget what you know to grow

January 25, 2018

ISSN# 1545-2646

 

 

 

 

 

Forget what you know to grow

I recently attended a business conference where the theme of the event was Reimagine Excellence. The content, speakers and engaging conversations were right on target for where business is right now in our marketplaces.

Our economy is more energized than in previous cycles.  Business leaders, owners and managers are actively trying to figure out what is taking place in each of their industries, so they can position their business to take best advantage of this energy. People in the business space are trying to reformulate for that next level of success.

The barrier is that it is easy to say and even give thought to reimagining, reformulating, rethinking but to actually do it is quite a bit harder. For to give up what has been previously successful for some new or different way to get to the next level is almost like telling yourself what helped you get here was insufficient to take you further.  The fact of the matter is – you would be correct.  What mind set and tolls which you have used to create success to date will need to be completely rethought going forward.

It is not that you must push it all out of your brain, (you just can’t do that) but what you must do is not let it be the barrier to moving beyond what made you successful to date.

The world is moving at a different rate than it was just a few years ago.  The amount of information options or media noise that is coming at you and the amount of noise (your information) which you are responding too is exponentially growing.  What that means is the amount of noise you built your business model on will implode on itself unless you upgrade your skills and thoughts to process the noise more effectively and efficiently in the marketplace.

Now not all the noise or data filling the air is worth thinking about.  There is plenty of noise just for the sake of noise.  There always has been and always will be noise.  The difference is the volume is turned up and your speakers (thought processes) are not skilled to handle that capacity.  Your skills were developed at a different level.

Think of it this way.  A go cart racer develops skills when initially driving 30-60 miles per hour (MPH).  If the skills were to remain stagnant at that level, as they moved to higher end racing class moving 100 plus MPH then they would likely underperform and would be a danger to others on the race track who have passed them up in skill development.

This is the ever-present challenge for business owners, leaders and most specifically managers and supervisors.  Managers/supervisors typically work very diligently to achieve a level of work performance where they are responsible for a group of people and deliverables.  Those skills are honed in at that defined level.  For the manager/supervisor at that point in time, they are performing at a high level.  You need them to forget all that they have learned to get to that level and embrace the future by being willing to fail to grow. This is where many managers and supervisors hunker down and fall into protecting their territory at all cost.  They inhibit others from growing.  They can actually begin to tear down those encroaching on them so that they don’t have to climb higher.  It becomes a painful drain on company resources and company profits.

This week I challenge you to look at your middle management team and ask yourself if they are growing or holding your business back.  It is difficult to look at this because in many cases you have a number of years invested into these people. They are at some level of value to you and your business.  Not being true to them or yourself only places an additional strain on the relationships and the growth of your business.

Pit of your stomach feeling a bit uneasy about having to look at your team through a different set of lenses? It is time to call JKL Associates at (313) 527-7945 so the process is productive for all involved..

Questions or comments – email us at partners@jklassociates.com or call our Office at (313) 527-7945
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