Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Trying Something New
Some people call it ‘taking a risk,’ but I prefer to think of the unknown as simply, ‘trying something new.’ It just seems less scary; less intimidating. By re-framing your thinking you can turn ‘fear of failure’ (commonly played out in your head as you are a failure) into ‘that didn’t work’ or ‘I didn’t like that and choose not to do it again’ (focusing on the task, not the person).
I’m looking at my August calendar and trying something new—no client bookings setup months in advance and taking the last week as a vacation. As an independent consultant, this is the scary part. How will I pay bills if I have no clients booked? Will clients remember my services when I start up again in September? What do I do with my time now?
The big question is: Why?! I firmly believe that if you want to attain remarkable results in your business, you must get out of your own way and “do” things differently. In a work environment, here are some techniques to try:
* Conduct cross-department or customer focus groups.
* Create a mastermind group with other managers who have skills different than you. Meet weekly to share best practices and resources.
* Brainstorm ideas using colleagues outside your industry. Work off 1 clear statement - for example, “How can we make our service better for the first-time customer?”
* Dig up some data. How recently have you conducted research around your demographics? Product? Customer trends? Obtaining current information and sharing it with your team is a great way to take the guesswork out, and make decisions in the present.
Getting a completely different perspective on your situation - in the team, department, or organization - opens up a whole new world of possibility. The possibility of deepening team relationships, designing additional products or services, seeing a new customer target market. Be open; be intentional; be conscious.
I got an unexpected phone call and decided to hop a plane to Tucson tomorrow—never been in that city, know little about the potential client, and their current state is somewhat desparate. I’m trying something new and the possibities are endless.
Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie