You know the phrase, you are what you eat? That’s true in business too. OK maybe not literally, but the idea that your approach to something dictates the results you’ll get is something that’s been playing out for years, with thousands of business owners falling foul of it.
Often they will take the approach of ‘if it isn’t broken don’t fix it’, preferring to focus on new things rather than changing the things they already do, But we believe this is wrong. Businesses should always be striving to improve their progress and grow, and this requires an open attitude to change. And because we don’t tolerate bullshit, especially in business, here are some of our favourite excuses used by businesses to avoid changing things, and why they are wrong.
We’ve Always Done It This Way
The most dangerous 6 words you can ever utter in business. Let’s get this out of the way – ‘we’ve always done it this way’ is never EVER a good reason for performing a process, doing a task or not changing one. This attitude is outdated and can be quite dangerous to the performance of your business. After all, just because it’s the way you’ve done something up until now, doesn’t make it the best way. Processes and technologies change, markets change, even your business could have changed since that policy was instated, and it’s important for any business to keep up to date with both technology and their customers.
A great way to avoid getting stuck in this mentality is by appointing a ‘devil’s advocate’ to each and every meeting you have. This person should not be there to offer new ideas or suggestions, but instead to challenge the other people in the room. The devil’s advocate key question should always be ‘why?’ If the answer is ‘because we’ve always done it that way’, then the team need to reevaluate and decide if that really is the best way of doing something. And if you don’t have someone to do that with – ask us! We always love playing Devil’s Advocate!
It’ll Take Too Long
Let’s put this into perspective here. Often when something will take too long, it means there will be an amount of downtime for the business. Changes to internal infrastructure, moving premises, hiring new staff or creating new departments are all things that can take a very long time, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be done. If you need to update your IT infrastructure to something more suited to your needs, it should be done, and you can get support to do it. The same goes for moving your premises, or something as simple as hiring a VA. This is a big ask for a lot of businesses, but if you approach it in the right way your downtime could be reduced to a few days, all of which are planned for. Any change to your business can be implemented with minimal downtime to your business, if you plan them properly.
It Costs Too Much
In terms of cost, this is a whole new ball game. It costs too much is a great way of saying ‘I’m not interested in doing this’ to new projects. But the fact is that no business will continue to grow without some investment. You might be ok for a while, but sooner or later you will hit the glass ceiling, and there you will have to decide between staying where you are, or injecting some money and growing further. If you are struggling with a budget, look at where you are currently spending and cut some of the fat to free up the funds. If it’s a case of the solution you’re looking at being a touch expensive, look into alternatives or other suppliers. If the upgrade is essential to growth, there are short-term finance options available to businesses. At the end of the day, if it costs too much, there are ways around it, and it should never be the factor that stops you from building and growing.
Have you said some of these things before? Don’t worry, you can tell us! We’re here to help you change your thinking, and provide a new outlook for your business problems. So if you want someone who can take over your admin and bounce ideas around, we’ve got you covered! Just get in touch to contact a member of our team today.