Fatal assumptions that may be hurting your business.
Industry
Above | Melbourne’s beautiful city landscape
If you’re like most visionaries, you’re resistant to change, but be mindful of hidden biases as you look for inventive ways to shatter your assumptions and work smarter into the future.
Decision-making blindspots
Assumptions hurt businesses.
Remaining blind to the causes won’t make you immune to the damaging effects. As an entrepreneur, you devote time and energy to your business, pouring money into new products and services. If you’re like most visionaries, you’re resistant to change, and you might not be interested in hearing you don’t know what you don’t know. This mindset risks creating a pattern of willful ignorance.
What if challenging some of your own assumptions could reveal answers that transform your business for the better? Have you considered hiring a consultant, seeking honest input from employees or surveying your customers to find out what they genuinely think of your business?
Our shared thoughts
You may be less known than you think.
We once discussed with the owner of a restaurant that operated for a decade in a town of about 10,000 people. A few years ago, while shopping only a block away, the owner of the restaurant got talking to the store’s owner and mentioned his venue only to get the response most business owners fear, “I’ve never heard of that place, where is it?” He walked to the front of the store he was currently in and pointed to his eatery. He had assumed everyone in town knew of his restaurant. This was simply not true. It was an excellent reminder to keep pushing to break through the noise, even in a smaller marketplace. Your sales could be suffering from obscurity without you even realising it.
You’re unlikely the best in the field.
Confidence is vital to the success of any venture; after all, if we don’t believe in ourselves, who will? But thinking you’re the best in your field can be detrimental to how you approach each day. There’s no room to improve if you think you’re already doing everything you can. Odds are, you aren’t viewing yourself accurately and are unlikely to correct that vision on your own. It’s like trying to be objective about your own children. Bring in a qualified, credible consultant from the outside and approach your conversations with a learner mindset. Do your best not to think or speak from a defensive position. Instead, seek a broader perspective to make wise decisions even when the truth is hard to hear.
Employees don’t always mirror your vision.
No doubt your vision for your business is highly personal. Maybe you also believe your employees need to care about your company as much as you do. That combination can have adverse effects, leading you to churn through employees until you find people who match your own level of accountability. Your team members might care a lot about your shared work, but they’re unlikely to make the same sacrifices you will to pursue your vision. Don’t saddle your crew with those expectations. Instead, marry your vision with theirs. What does this company mean to them? Do they see opportunities for development and advancement? Is the work fulfilling for them? Align your shared goals, and you’ll build a team of employees who will run through a brick wall for you and your company.
You should avoid servicing everyone.
When you try to serve everyone, you end up serving no one from a positioning standpoint. You will become indispensable to customers and acquire raving fans if you know why you exist and who you live to help. Along the way, your company will attract customers who live beyond your target’s perimeter. Think of them as a bonus, but never lose track of your base. When you narrow your focus, your marketing becomes more specific, your products become more helpful, and your business will become more profitable.