Complacent business owners are often their own worst enemies in limiting their success potential.
You may be surviving in the marketplace, but is your business thriving and winning? In a recent article for Inc.com, CEO, author, entrepreneur, and mentor Martin Zwilling challenges business leaders to be more open-minded as they face change and competition.
It is difficult for business owners and leaders to balance experience and expertise with new, innovative thinking that can take their businesses to the next level. Consider the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Abiding by this mantra today means you are likely on the fast track to failure.
Here are ten ways open-minded business leaders can win in today’s marketplace, according to Zwilling. How do you measure against the following practices?
- Don’t let your passion alone drive the business
- Accept change as a way of life in achieving success
- Dig for the root problem rather than fixing symptoms
- Analyze market events in the context of emerging trends
- Foster healthy disagreements among key team members
- Find time for what you need to expedite learning.
- Reward risk-taking rather than penalize or discourage it.
- Minimize the stress associated with decision-making.
- Always consider both ends of a solution spectrum
- Put metrics in place to track decision results
When your business sees success, complacency can creep in. Therefore, being innovative and keeping up with change is important. While there is certainly a time and place to acknowledge and celebrate big wins and market leadership, business leaders should never get too comfortable. It’s a death knell. How can you utilize the list above in a way that will expand your mindset and your ability to keep up with change?
