Many of us measure success from a purely business perspective. We place value on aspects such as turnover, profit/loss, growth, customers, clients, sales, the list is endless. Often we fail to acknowledge value from other areas of our lives, and as such our tight focus on one aspect, often business can see us scrutinizing the wrong things.
Measuring the Things that Matter
Although you are ambitious and business-driven, taking some time to look at other aspects of your life can be of use to you. In so doing, you will be able to use it to motivate yourself through the bad times that may beseech your career at some point.
Moreover, success in one area of your life tends to lead to success in another.
Here are some aspects of your life which give value, but you may not yet realize it:
Health:
If you have your health you are in a great position. You have nothing holding you back from achieving your goals and ambitions. If you’re not doing so already, try and find some time to do a little exercise. This not only makes you feel physically better but it can stimulate ideas and get the creative juices flowing.
Family:
If you have a great family setup then you are in a good, and many would argue a fortunate and blessed position. Strong family relationships are the stuff of happiness, and few would not value happiness.
If your family is doing well, then this gives you a platform to do well in your work. It is not just having family support, but a feeling of wellbeing and the satisfaction of contributing to a positive family setup. Should you be in this position, consider this to be your best success if you do not already.
Enjoyment
If we spend our lives without enjoyment and valuing these times, then we tend to become reclusive and not see value in anything we do. The fact is that you need your time if only to recover from the time you spend working and other duties outside of your work. Taking some time is great for your productivity.
Not Appreciating Holistic Value
As a business consultant, I’m often asked to advise businesses that are not doing so well or want to improve. Time and again, I see owners and managers focusing on the wrong things. These things tend to make little or no business impact, and all they do is drink energy from hard-working executives. In many respects, I point out where the value lies to a business owner or a good Chairman and his or her executive management team, and this often transforms the fortunes of a company.
Taking time to appreciate what is meaningful from all aspects of your life will not only make you a happier person, but you will see where the true value lies in your professional life. This will make you more productive, and give you a more meaningful life.
Taking a Holistic View of Business Problems
Learn to value success
When businesses feel they are not fulfilling their potential or worse, experiencing problems, I am often called in to assess. What I normally find is not the problems with the business model, but business owners tend to focus on details that make little impact, and as such, the issues tend to become protracted, and in some circumstances contribute to the cause of their business problems.
Inside the Business Problem
The problem when you’re close to the business, especially as a business owner, is that it is all too easy to get so close you no longer have a holistic view. You may be focusing on one aspect that you feel is the cause, when actually addressing a different issue entirely will see a better result.
This often arises from being too business-focused. Constructive and productive thoughts about making your business do better, have turned into something bordering obsession. You could well be overthinking problems, and as such making business mistakes. That’s ok, we all make mistakes.
Seeing Issues from the Outside
Bringing in a fresh pair of eyes is often the best solution to his kind of scenario. A business-savvy person can take a look at the whole of the business, and cut through the ‘noise’. This is the value of consultants. We come in, we look at the business, determine what needs to be focused on. As a result business fortunes change for the better.
Learning to Value
I often advise my clients, business owners, for the most part, that learning to value is a great skill. It is important that we look at our whole lives and not just judge ourselves on one aspect. This is true of everything we do, including family, friends, and everything else that happens outside of our careers.
It is in essence the secret to having a meaningful life. This not only helps you maintain an objective focus on your business, but it also gives you confidence and strength, which business owners need in abundance.
Running a successful business in my experience is not just about having focus, drive, and ambition, although these things are important, it is also about taking value and inspiration from your whole life. Once you embrace this not only will your business do better, but you will see considerable changes in your whole life.
If you feel your business is not doing so well or could do better.
It could be you simply need to take a step back and take a holistic view. You’ll be surprised at the results.
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#focus #drive #ambition #businessstrategy
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Are you Afraid to say you don’t know?
Admitting Limitations Builds Trust with your Clients
Knowledge can Provide the Solution you Need
Knowledge Collaboration Brings Real Value to your Clients
Honesty the best Policy
In an age of information, the most important asset is knowledge. It is often said that if you have the information you have the upper hand, “the advantage”.
Well yes, sort of!
Isn’t it true that when we are asked about something, and if we do not actually know anything about it, we are tempted to bluff and say, “well yeah I know about that” and wish that we did know about it? What would happen if we admitted that we didn’t know much about a subject? Have you considered saying, “no I do not know”? Have you thought that could be of value to your clients?
Many of us are scared that we will be dropped as consultants should we admit that there is a topic or subject we know little about. This is a misconception, given that business relationships are based and built on trust. If we pretend we know little about the subject and our client discovers that, it could do a lot more damage than simply saying we don’t know.
In fact, the most “valuable” knowledge may sometimes be “not knowing”.
The Value in not Knowing
You need to admit the fact that you cannot know everything. This actually gives you credibility in the eyes of your clients, and as such it is perfectly all right to say, “I do not know this.”
However, it is even better and more valuable to add, “I do not know this but I could get you the best one who knows about it, or find out all about it me.” So it is not only important for consultants to be honest to our clients but also critical to collaborate and establish a close network with each other.
Through discovering what your client wants or bringing in someone that does, you offer real value in your service. This is positive for your clients and for your reputation as a consultant.
Collaboration can Bring Real Benefits to your Clients
I meet with peers every once in awhile just to check and see how things are going at their end and to exchange information. It gives me a chance to explore possibilities of future collaborations and to see their perspective of market trends. Recently, I had one of these meetings with a very seasoned guru in his own right, one of the world’s top experts in hospitality consulting, Mr. Omer Isvan, the President of Servotel Corporation.
And while we were exchanging information we came to a point of acknowledging how important to be able to say “I do not know” to your client.
It is often thought that when a consultant is called upon a duty, he is supposed to come up with a miracle solution to save the situation. Often, we do by taking a holistic view of the whole case and adopting an approach accordingly to carefully assess the problem at hand. Then we are in a good position to provide a meaningful and valuable solution.
It would be great if we knew everything there is to know in the world, but this is not the reality. So sometimes saying, “I do not know”, could be much more valuable to your client than you could imagine. Knowing your limitations is valuable in itself.
An abundance of help and support is available out there. Just tell your client that “you do not know but you will find out or find the best person to ask”. This is a perfectly acceptable response, and you will ultimately be judged on results. It is ok not to know everything.
About the author: Mehmet Fatih Kara – Strategic Planning – Insightful thought leader who intelligently analyses all functional business areas and key market dynamics to deliver a clear strategic and operating model. Implements detailed action plans whilst identifying and capitalising upon new business opportunities.