Think outside the box, but ...
BY DON TAYLOR
 |
Don Taylor is president and CEO of Data Staar Communications in Amarillo, Texas, and co-author of Up Against the Wal-Marts and Solid Gold Success Strategies For Your Business. He can be reached at P.O. Box 67, Amarillo, TX 79105. |
|
Recently,
an old friend and business associate came by. While we
were visiting, he threw out this little gem of wisdom:
“I know you’ve got to think outside the box, but
somebody has to stay in the box or it will blow away.”
Every
year I work with business owners who become so enamored
of new ideas that they forget to take care of the
customers who are paying the bills. Now, I believe in
forward thinking, and I certainly believe in thinking
outside the box. However, if you forget to guard your
box it may blow away or a competitor may take it from
you.
Small-business
owners seem to struggle with this concept. Some know
they must change, but are reluctant to. Others spend so
much time creating change that they create nothing of
value. Both types are likely to go broke in today’s
environment.
When
I think of resistance to change, I remember a little
story regarding former U.S. President Martin Van Buren.
Seven years before he became president, Van Buren wrote
a letter to then-President Andrew Jackson complaining
that the new-fangled railroads were threatening the
canal system of the United States. Van Buren pointed out
that if railroads replaced canals, serious unemployment
would result and America would lose its ability to
defend itself.
Van
Buren wrote this paragraph in fierce resistance to this
technological change: “As you may well know, railroad
carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles
per hour by engines, which in addition to endangering
life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way
through the countryside. The Almighty certainly never
intended that people should travel at such breakneck
speed.”
Ah,
if Van Buren could only see us now, hurtling through
space at the speed of sound. Yes, the times they were a-changin’
then, and they still are.
Change
is positive, but it needs balance to succeed. We can
still stand in our box while we’re thinking outside
it.
The
best attitude to take toward change is to embrace it.
You can no more stop change than you can hold back a
river by standing in it. Change will flow past you,
leaving you behind as fast as the water in that river.
Learn to swim with the current and you can advance your
business. Use change to get ahead, accomplish more and
travel faster.
Your
objective must be to master change. Learning about life
and life’s lessons gives you a real competitive
advantage. Since change is the only constant in life, we
will benefit if we learn more about it.
The
learning process is only the beginning. Knowledge, the
product of learning, is ineffective without action. I
know a few folks so filled with knowledge that they can
talk about anything. However, what you know should never
prevent you from doing what needs to be done. When you
know what to do, get right after it. While learning
never stops, you must supersede talking with action.
Sometimes
change means going against established trends. There are
times when you may have to swim upstream. Regardless of
the latest fads, you’ll find that doing the right
thing is more important than doing things right. For
example, stealing a car — no matter how well you do it
— is not a right or proper thing to do.
Always
ask yourself, “Is this fair to everyone?” “Is it
honest?” “Would I want to appear on a national TV
show and defend my decisions?” If you can answer yes
to these questions, you’re learning about positive
change. Your actions are appropriate and you have made
the right changes. |
