April is the start of a new financial year for many businesses and with the coming of spring this is a great time to take stock and have a fresh look at your business. However, with all the talk of Brexit, cuts to budgets and general uncertainty there is a risk that many businesses in the U.K could stagnate over the next few years, waiting for politicians to decide their future.
In this blog I’m going to give you a few ideas about how to get unstuck and get your business moving again!
-
The first step is to acknowledge you are stuck.
During my career I have worked in various corporate roles managing teams. In weekly one to ones myself and my direct reports would go through to do lists and the most common pattern I identified as a manager for projects not progressing was when people got stuck. You see when we’re not clear on the way forward or what to do we often procrastinate and do nothing and this can happen at any level or in any area of life.
One of my previous managers used to call it floundering, a term usually applied to fish that are struggling in mud or shallow waters. Although it hurt my ego at the time to be compared to a flailing fish I am now grateful that he made me aware of this because I am now aware of when it is happening to me. The warning signs for me are usually feeling frustrated, lack of motivation, lack of ideas and negative thinking.
-
Step back and look at the big picture
If you are aware you are stuck it’s really important that you get perspective on whatever issue it is you are facing. One of the first business books I ever read was Stephen Covey’s ‘The 7 habits of highly effective people.’ (Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 1989). In his book Covey talks of the power of paradigms.
In order to ‘get unstuck,’ sometimes we have to challenge the way we see the world or think about something. One way to do this is to step back with an open mind and look at how other people and businesses are doing things. This may be your competitors or your peers.
So I would encourage you to step back and look at what is happening outside of your business. As a start what is trending on google, what are the best websites of 2017 and why? What is happening both inside and outside of your industry? When was the last time you got out and looked at what your competitors are doing or spoke directly to your clients?
-
Keep moving in any way possible
In her novel ‘Big Magic’ (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015) Elizabeth Gilbert talks about creative dry spells. I’ve experienced this before when trying to come up with new ideas for products or blogs. The best piece of advice I learnt from reading Gilbert’s book was to keep moving if you have creative block. That can mean literally doing anything from sport to art to just getting out of the office and doing something different. Personally I have always found that I get a lot of ideas when travelling. I also find playing the piano helps or going for a walk! The worst thing you can do if you are stuck for ideas and solutions is to stay in your office feeling miserable. If your creative team is sitting around looking demotivated and not coming up with any new ideas then send them out of the office to look at a new shop or art gallery – anything to keep moving and get some inspiration.
-
Face your fears
Going back to the example of my colleagues in those one to ones, usually the reasons why they were stuck were due to lack of knowledge or lack of experience (often masked by lack of confidence). Now the wisest people I have met in my life have always told me that you are never too old to learn something new and if you don’t understand something to ask questions. In fact, one of the most powerful things that I have ever learnt was to face my fears, ask difficult questions and take personal responsibility.
Why is your business struggling? Why are staff demotivated? Why are your competitors gaining ground? Perhaps it is because of bad decisions, poor management, lack of direction or misreading the market.
If Brexit or the change to exchange rates has had a negative influence on your business recently, how can you now regain control and steer your business into a better place?
How often do we hide behind excuses such as it was out of my control, there’s not enough time, budget cuts or we don’t have the right people? I challenge you to confront your ego, admit you may have made mistakes and be prepared to admit you don’t know it all and may need support.
-
Read or access good online content.
The rate at which technology is changing means that we are all still learning, even if you have been in business for 70 years! So if you are a Senior Manager you either need to up your knowledge quickly or learn from other people. There are a wealth of new business books, market research reports, online blogs, training and YouTube videos that can help you get up to speed if you have a knowledge gap.
-
Network
By network I don’t necessarily just mean go to the next corporate business breakfast where everyone is trying to get promoted! I mean reach out to connections that you trust and know well. Meet with friends who inspire you or get in touch with business leaders whose businesses are doing well. If you’re meeting the same old people who are all doom and gloom about your industry, then this can be really demotivating. I would encourage you to network with people both inside and from outside of your organisation and outside of your industry. Keep an open mind and be prepared to learn from people who may be more junior or younger than you or who work in completely different industries. There are lots of ways to meet new people to network with, through co-working, networking groups that can be found on meetup or social media groups.
Incidentally as a small business owner I would say networking is essential for your own sanity and I am constantly learning from people who do completely different jobs to me.
-
Be prepared to acknowledge that you or your business needs to change
I hope by the time you have taken the steps above, you will begin to feel you can get unstuck and start coming up with new ideas and solutions for your business. If that is you, great! I would encourage you to start putting together an action plan for change and do something today towards getting unstuck.
The danger of doing nothing is that nothing will change and things might get worse – you can’t keep on doing the same old things and expect different results! Somehow either you personally or your business or environment needs to change.
Sometimes you have to admit that you need to do something drastic to get unstuck and move forward. If you feel stuck in the organisation that you are working for then maybe it’s time to consider a new job for example.
Sometimes, other outcomes are required. You may realise that to get your business moving you need to bring in new managers or use outside consultants to bring a fresh perspective or additional knowledge and experience. If that’s the case I would love to talk to you further about how my business Bright Disposition may be able to help you.
