Business Owner, I have a question for you: What is holding your company back from greater success? If you are not 100% sure what those things are, take a minute and focus on at least three circumstances, conditions, things or people preventing your company from achieving greater results.
Do you have them clearly identified in your head? Now let’s look at your challenges. It wouldn’t be surprising if all three of your challenges are external to you. Most business owners tend to hold things, conditions, circumstances and people outside of themselves responsible for holding the company back.
Very few owners are open-minded and courageous enough to acknowledge, “I am one of the main causes holding this company back”. If your three main challenges were “external factors” like the struggling economy, your competition, your sales or marketing teams, your managers, other employees, your customers, your suppliers/vendors, your products/services, access to capital, the rising cost of fuel and product materials, then I challenge you to dig a little deeper and see if most of these challenges aren’t merely excuses?
For one, isn’t your competition facing the same challenges? If you are honest, aren’t you blaming your lack of favorable business results on certain conditions or other people? If you do, you are giving your power away to own the results and to make positive changes and adjustments. Bottom line, you are saying that the situation is out of your control, that you are a powerless pawn to circumstances and other people, and that you prefer to feel better by telling yourself “poor me stories.” (This might sound a little extreme, but you get the point.)
A huge key to success is for the business owner to realize that they are 100% responsible for the business results they generate. Do not fall prey to that victimhood mentality. It doesn’t accomplish anything and it only creates even bigger problems. It’s not that you have problems that is the problem, it’s that you don’t own up to and fix the problems promptly. Making excuses and playing denial is the real problem.
My advise for this week is: Stop blaming, complaining or justifying why things aren’t working out. Don’t settle for less and for the status quo. Take 100% ownership of your circumstance and identify in which areas you can improve and become a better business owner. Because only if you become a better business owner can your company reach the levels of success that you are striving for. Here are some questions to contemplate:
How can I become a better leader? How can I support my sales team better? Where is my lack of knowledge and understanding of a subject matter stifling the growth of my company? How can you increase the quality of your product or services you provide?