If you are a typical business owner you may be worried about the economy and what effect it will have on your business. You are trying to ride out the storm, but my question to you is: Is it really a passing storm or is it “the new normal?” I do not want to sound like a pessimist, but business as usual no longer exists. This is a different time than what it was a year ago, two years ago, or five years ago. It is unfamiliar and uncomfortable and it is very easy to become discouraged, confused and worried.

 

In order to compete in “the new normal,” you must employ solutions that are outside the boundaries of ordinary thinking. I call this “Thinking Beyond the Obvious.” What worked in the past may not necessarily work in the future. Albert Einstein once said, “Significant problems that we face can not be solved at the same level of thinking we were when we created them. You must learn to think in a new way – you need a ‘paradigm shift.’”

 

Thinking Beyond the Obvious will make your business more valuable, more credible and more visible. The obvious is doing what everyone else is doing because you think that because they are doing it, it is the right thing to do. Thinking Beyond the Obvious will allow your business to be more successful despite competing in the same external environment as every other business.

 

Accomplishing this does not necessarily mean trying harder or spending more money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your attitude is one of your greatest business assets and it costs you absolutely nothing.

 

Your attitude serves as a lens through which you see your circumstances. When you turn your attitude over to your circumstances you loose control of the ability to effect change. What are your thoughts today? Are they negative or are they positive? The difference between the two can greatly affect your business. As Clement W. Stone, a noted businessman, self-help book author says; “There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”

 

A negative attitude could lead to unhappiness, poor health, poor relationships and unfavorable business conditions. You determine your attitude. We may blame circumstances or events for our situation, but how we respond will determine our success.

 

Jim Rohn noted motivational speaker; “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.” In order to change yourself you must change your attitude.

 

Businesses that see “the new normal” as an opportunity to be successful will have a greater chance of achieving their goals. Everyday you can make a decision that will greatly impact your business. It is your attitude. How will you approach your business today? The choice is entirely yours.

 

 A vision is a critical element of any business. Your vision will take your business out beyond the present. Successful people as well as successful businesses have a clear vision of the future.

 

A vision creates a vivid colorful picture of what your business is striving to become, it is the desired future state of the business. It provokes emotion and excitement, creates commitment, understanding and greatly improves the focus of the organization. The clearer you are about your vision, the greater influence that clarity will have on what you are currently doing. With a clear vision, you are much more capable of evaluating activities in the present and determining whether those activities are consistent with where you truly want to be.

 

Michael E. Gerber in his book Awakening the Entrepreneur Within, How Ordinary People Can Create Extraordinary Companies states; “A business without a vision has no soul, a business without soul has no heart, no passion, a business without passion is a business whose demise has already been foretold.”

 

 

Positioning is the perception consumers have of your product or service.

Ever consider why some companies or businesses seem to have the “it” factor. It is because they have positioned their business advantageously. The “it” factor is a Unique Positioning or a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) It is what differentiates your company from your competitors. It is what makes your product or service more valuable to your customers than your competitors.

 

This may all sound like an oversimplification, but believe me, if you can not differentiate your business from your competitors; you give the consumer no choice in these times but to find a business that does.

 

Successful businesses position their business advantageously while operating in the same external environment as your competitors.

 

The definition of Marketing for a small business is different than the corporate definition many of you may be familiar with. Marketing for a small business is all interaction a prospect or a customer has with your business and it must be totally integrated. Every customer experience whether positive or negative has an impact on your business. The value and strength of a business is the sum total of all customer experiences created at every touchpoint

 

Marketing is not about whom you think the customers are and what you think they need. Marketing is about who your customers think you are and what they need.

 

Developing a true understanding of your customers is a competitive advantage in any marketplace and particularly in “the new normal.” Harnessing the power of your customer’s insights produces a powerful engagement that competitors can not duplicate.

 

Your marketing must be totally integrated which is the synchronizing of all marketing messages into one compelling voice; your unique positioning. It has been said that the whole of a marketing campaign can be greater than the sum of its parts if those parts work tightly together to assist one another.

 

Excellence in Execution is the use of business process management to achieve a businesses objective. It is everything done within your business to convert a product or service into a profit. This would include: marketing, sales, customer relations, purchasing, vendor relations, manufacturing, inventory control, order entry, order fulfillment, invoicing, customer support and accounts receivables and payables.

 

It is making core business processes more efficient and effective through monitoring and control. Business process management will enable your business to react to and adapt to changing conditions. Excellence in execution will help position your business for success.

 

 

We have heard it continuously that employees are the life blood of an organization. But how do you instill in your employees that drive? How do you instill in a minimum wage part-time employee the drive to help you succeed? When employees have a sense of purpose to their jobs that goes beyond earning a paycheck they are engaged. Engaged employees will find ways to work more efficiently and work smarter.

 

Your employees must clearly understand how what they do impacts both the long-term and short-term goals of the company. A strong relationship exists between the level of employee engagement and their performance. “A mere 7% of employees today fully understood their company’s business strategies and what’s expected of them in order to help achieve company goals” according to Robert S Kaplan and David P. Norton authors of “The Strategy-Focused Organization”

 

Do your employees understand the connection between their individual efforts and the overall goals of the company?

 

Create circumstances within the business where the organizational work also satisfies the individual’s goals and aspirations. Help your staff realize the role they play in delivering your goals and objectives.

 

Are you motivating your employees? Dwight D. Eisenhower defines motivation as “the act of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.”

 

My recommendation to every business owner, executive, or manager; do not hide in your shell hoping circumstances will change. Circumstances will not change if you do not take action.

 

Position your business for success by Thinking Beyond the Obvious. Look for solutions that are outside the boundaries of ordinary thinking.