Are you missing out on one of the most valuable assets your business has?
As a small business owner, you already know that huge companies and corporations have many advantages over you. What you may not be as aware of, is the wonderful advantage you have over them. I’m talking about agility.
Agility, speedboats and cruise-liners
It has often been said that national and multinational companies move like a cruise-liner, whilst small agile businesses move like a speedboat. A small business owner can have an idea for a new service this morning, get working on it this afternoon and put the idea to work in weeks. Conversely, it usually takes months and months, for a large corporation to go from an initial idea to seeing it implemented. These huge companies have many moving parts and decisions are preceded by meetings and reports and focus groups etc.
One of the cornerstones of business success, is to make the very best of what you have. Your agility, the ability to think and act when the moment is right, is a powerful asset and yet many small business owners lack the confidence to use it. In many cases they will wait for someone else to put an idea into play before they do it themselves, in an effort to lower the risk of getting it wrong. The challenge with that approach, is that it places you in a position where you not only have fewer resources than the big players – you are also playing catch-up. That’s a damaging and unnecessary disadvantage for you and your business.
The agile business mindset
When I think of the businesspeople I know, who embrace their agility, here’s what I see: They get an idea, which they then discuss with people they know and trust. Then, they do the research and make sure the numbers add up. Next, they do the testing. Finally, if it looks right, they put it into play.
Here’s why:
- If the idea works, they get the benefit of the rewards.
- If the idea flops, they get the benefit of the lesson, which they invest in the next idea. This helps them constantly improve.
In either case, you are better off by using your agility, than sitting on your hands and missing out on one of the biggest assets your business has. Don’t wait for someone else to use your ideas, before you believe in them. Your ideas deserve better than that.