By Tom Borg
Jan. 10, 2013
One of the challenges for most leaders of businesses today is they think inside a box. They refuse to step outside the boundaries of this imaginary prison. A better way is to disintegrate that box. Start thinking without a box at all.
In order for this to happen for your business, you must change your paradigms.
Paradigms are “problem solving systems.” With an outdated or ineffective paradigm, your small business could be headed toward extinction. With the right kind of paradigm, your small business will grow and thrive in today’s economy.
The way you see the world determines whether you respond or react to what you encounter. It is safe to say that many of today’s small business owners have not experienced anything like what they are experiencing in today’s market place.
In the state of Michigan, as well as in many other states, the market has shifted and the economy has changed.
The old saying “if you keep on doing what you have always done, you will keep on getting what you always got” has been changed to “if you keep on doing what you have always done, you will get a lot less of what you always got; you might even go broke”.
As surrounding circumstances change, you need to adapt, or in some cases, completely change your approach to serving your clients and customers. This all begins by changing your perspective on how you see your problems. Once you change the way you look at your problems, you can choose to use different problem solving systems.
Here are some things you can do to change the way you look at solving your business problems.
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Start asking other successful business owners for one idea that can help you grow your business.
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Ask your employees the question: “If you were the owner of this company, what would you change to improve the way it is being run?”
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Stop saying no to new ideas you learn about, and start thinking about how you can implement them.
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Start reading one good book or listening to one good audio program on how to make your business more successful.
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Quit complaining about the economy and do something about your own business economy.
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Start doing some things in your company that makes it a more attractive place to work.
Remember, start thinking without a box and start changing the way you think about your business problems. When you do this, you begin creating new solution-orientated possibilities that can help you improve and grow your business.
Tom Borg is president of Tom Consulting LLC in Canton, Mich. He works with small and mid-size businesses. He shows them how to think without the box and maintain a profitable business. Contact him at www.TomBorgConsulting.com.