Recently I participated in an advisory group that was reviewing the curriculum for a small business and entrepreneurship course. One of the members on the panel was a banker. She commented that many companies suffered through these rougher times, however, there were others in the same industry that did not. The difference, she observed, was that the successful ones had this uncanny ability to adapt and survive.
In over 9 years of business I’ve been exposed to a diverse range of companies. I’ve noticed that there are two types of business owners. There are those that go for a goal, then hit roadblocks and stop. They tend to really focus on the roadblocks, battle with them and exert a great deal of energy on them until they give up or fail. Then there are those that simply get results. They also encounter roadblocks, but seem to get to their goals time after time. Their secret? It’s a slight mind shift that makes all the difference. They say, “yes, I know we have a roadblocks and how can we still get our desired result?” The mind's focus is shifted from the roadblock to the end result.
For example, “I’d like to advertise more/do more marketing to get more business, but I have limited funds (roadblock)”. The first group focuses all their energy on the limited funds. Maybe they’ll try to borrow, maybe scrape something together or give up. Instead they could shift their mind and say “I have limited funds. So even though I have limited funds, how can I get more business?”
When you stop focusing on the roadblock and instead focus on ideas that get the result, ideas start to pop into mind like how can I use the free tools on the Internet like social networking? Maybe I can give a referral fee to a salesperson already selling to my target. See the difference? By having the roadblock and striving for the result you’ll become more creative. Do it a few times and you too will end up having an uncanny ability to adapt and survive.