Jim Connolly

Hold on to what’s working. Let go of what isn’t

February 20, 2020 by Jim Connolly

A friend of mine sometimes appears on business news programs. She called me yesterday with a question. You may find my answer useful, so I thought I’d share it with you.

Here’s the question: “Jim, I need a piece of business advice, which would work as a super-short sound bite. I’m live on air in just over 30 minutes. Can you help?“.

Honestly, that’s not the kind of thing I would usually be able to do with so little time. Especially as she specifically wasn’t looking for a famous business quote.

Fortunately, I had been working the day before with one of my clients and shared something, which he found really useful. I figured it might be what she was looking for. She loved it and used it. It was this:

“Hold on to what’s working and let go of what isn’t”.

Allow me to explain.

Habits, holding on and letting go

Much of what we do in day-to-day business is habitual, at least to a degree. Here are just a few common examples.

We have certain providers we go to for particular challenges.
We rely on key people for professional, expert advice.
We use specific software and hardware for certain tasks.

Over the months or years, these providers, people and technologies become a key part of how we operate our business.

I’ve found that the most successful business owners review these habits regularly. They keep their eyes open for better alternatives all the time. They know that meaningful improvement is only possible by looking closely at what you do, holding on to what’s working (or what’s optimal) and letting go of what isn’t.

Is it working or not?

The challenge with adopting this approach is that we can get comfortable with what seems to be working. And after all, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it! The thing is, we can only be certain that something isn’t broken if we check for better alternatives.

A laptop you spent a fortune on a decade ago, that’s now too slow, too heavy and has terrible battery-life, didn’t become antiquated overnight. If you’d just carried on using it, assuming it wasn’t broken because it was still powering-up, you’d be at a huge commercial disadvantage today.

The same is true of the providers we rely on. Their service may have been outstanding a year or two ago, but better providers and better-suited alternatives enter the market all the time. In many industries and professions, what was outstanding a few months ago is just average today.

And what about the assumptions we make? For instance, consider the assumptions we make about the market we serve. Are these assumptions working for us? If not, we need to let them go and make better decisions with better data.

Why not take some time to review the things you’re currently holding on to. Especially those you are comfortable with, but haven’t reviewed in a long time. Check if they’re still optimal.

If they are, hold on. But if they’re not, let go.

Waking up?

February 17, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

A reader emailed me earlier with an observation. She explained that even though it’s only February, it’s already starting to look a lot like 2019 for her business. And 2019 was pretty similar to 2018.

She’s frustrated with her progress. And she’s not alone. I always hear similar things around this time of year.

On one level, the answer to her problem is simple. No. It’s extremely simple. Because we know exactly why this happens and exactly what to do.

On another level, it’s a very hard problem to crack. Allow me to explain why PLUS some ideas to overcome it!

Cause and effect

Like everything in life, business follows the law of cause and effect.

In short: The law of cause and effect states that for every effect there is a definite cause. Likewise for every cause, there is a definite effect.

So, if a business owner wants better results (effects), they need to take better actions (causes). Obviously, if we carry on doing things the same old way, we’ll get the same old results. Old ways won’t open new doors.

It’s tricky

Knowing why business owners get stuck in a rut is one thing. But actually resolving the situation requires a mindset shift.

And that’s not easy. Not easy at all!

This is especially the case when:

The business owner has developed a level of acceptance with their situation. They start to self-identify as having reached their potential; consciously or unconsciously. This is pretty common.
The business owner has a degree of comfort, which makes it hard to motivate themselves to leave their comfort zone and improve things. Sure, they’re not where they want to be, but they’re kind of okay. This is easily the biggest cause of unfulfilled potential.

What should a business owner do, if they identify with one of those mindsets?

They should wait!

Yes. Wait. Allow me to explain.

Wait for the wake up call

Entrepreneurs will motivate themselves to do what’s required, as soon as they realise they’re coasting or in their comfort zone. However, real entrepreneurs are just a tiny fraction of small business owners.

What tends to happen, is that something unexpected occurs. Something that creates the motivation for the small business owner to act. A wake up call.

Common examples I see include.

They lose a major client or source of income.
They have a birthday with a zero at the end and realise they’re wasting time.
An agile competitor arrives and starts to target their best clients.
They were in a marriage / long-term relationship that’s recently ended.
They discover they’re not going to be able to retire with the quality of life or security they hoped for, or retire as soon as they thought.
A family member or old friend reminds them that they used to have much bigger dreams.
They just get tired of making-do and want something more from work (and life).

The key to our success is not whether we get wake up calls or not. We all get them. And we get them fairly regularly.

Our success depends on our decision: to either hit the snooze button… or wake up.

Note – I explain the entrepreneurial mindset in a little more detail here.

What if?

February 13, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

When we get a client referral we always know why it happened. We earned it. We exceeded our client’s expectations and provided exceptional customer service. We were consistent. We turned up. We cared. This combined to make us extremely referable.

When business owners consistently get too few client referrals, they usually can’t figure out why. From their perspective, they’re working hard, caring for their clients and delivering solid customer service. Often, they will blame someone (their clients) or something (their industry). This then places the problem outside their control and allows it to persist.

The answer?

What if? thinking

When I solve this challenge for business owners, I start by doing some ‘what if?’ thinking with them. It looks a little like this.

What if the range of services you provide isn’t ideally matched to your client’s needs… how could you improve it?
What if your response time isn’t optimal… how could you improve it?
What if your customer service isn’t perfect… how could you improve it?
What if the level of care and attention you place in your work isn’t maximized… how could you improve it?

Using specific ‘what if?’ questions leads to more effective answers than the general examples above.

The idea behind ‘what if’ thinking is to allow us to imagine a scenario, where there is room for improvement.

It lets us put distance between the challenge (too few referrals), and our belief that we’re already doing everything we can. It opens our thinking up to new possibilities, which simply aren’t there if we blame external factors.

It seems most of the important challenges we face, in life as well as in business, need to be solved from the same starting point: Accepting we have a problem. And if we want to find the best answers, we need to acknowledge that we’re not already doing everything perfectly.

This is truly great news.

It means there’s always room for our business to improve, because there’s always room for us to improve.

What exactly are you waiting for?

February 11, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Don’t wait for permission. You don’t need it.

Don’t wait for the perfect time. The time is never perfect.

Don’t wait for inspiration to appear. Command it to appear.

Don’t wait for the right opportunity. Create it.

Don’t wait for them to pick you. Pick yourself.

Don’t wait for the initiative. Take it.

Now remind yourself: What exactly are you waiting for?

Designers have known this for years: Get reflective

February 7, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

One of the attributes of commercially successful design, is that the object needs to be reflective. This means it should cause us to think about it. To reflect on its utility, weirdness or beauty.

I’d argue that a commercially successful business also needs to be reflective.

A business that’s useful has utility. A business that’s meaningfully different is weird. And a polished, professional business that runs smoothly is a thing of beauty.

Allow me to explain why this should matter to you and your business.

Your unpaid salespeople are waiting

Designers know that reflective products almost sell themselves.

For instance, my wife bought me some Apple AirPods just after they launched. Their unique look caused total strangers to ask me about them. Their sound quality and ability to instantly connect wirelessly, inspired me to tell my friends about them.

Just by owning them and using them I became an unpaid salesperson for the product.

Take a look at your products, services or business model and look for ways to make things more reflective. Who knows how many unpaid salespeople there are, who’ll spring into action as soon as you give them something reflective to share with their friends?

Target the unhappy. Snub the uninterested

February 4, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

I want to share one of the foundations of effective marketing with you today. It’s something that can save you time, money and help you focus your marketing far more effectively.

It’s simply this:

People who are happy with the service they get from one of your competitors, are not looking for whatever your business is offering. The same is true of those who need whatever you offer, but don’t want it. The heavy smoker needs to quit smoking. That doesn’t mean they want to quit smoking.

Satisfied people are exactly that… they’re satisfied. They value their current provider. And like you, they ignore marketing messages when they’re not interested in a new (whatever).

This holds true even if you’re providing amazing value.

Even if you are less expensive.

Even if you are faster or more reliable.

Your value will lack impact to those who are not interested.

It’s certainly true that you can change someone’s world-view or mindset. But it takes time. Lots and lots of time. That’s why I recommend you adopt a more effective approach.

Focus on the unhappy

Yes, it’s important to build an awareness of how great your product or service is. You need people to know where to go, when they’re looking for whatever you provide.

However…

If you want to have the full attention of the most motivated buyers, (people ready to make a purchasing decision right now), focus on the unhappy, not the uninterested. These are the people who are actively looking for what you offer.

They’re dissatisfied with their current provider.

They’re seeking something better.

They’re eager.

They have a budget allocated.

They’re ready to take action.

Your marketing needs to talk to them and address their needs. Because if it doesn’t, you’re missing out on the most motivated prospective clients in your marketplace.