To improve business growth and daily productivity, you need to be challenged. We live in a world that is constantly changing and it’s unwise to never imagine something unexpected coming to your doorstep.
It can be easy to think of a challenge as a roadblock, rather than an opportunity for improvement. We often enjoy learning about business success stories but somehow don’t imagine our businesses might face their own challenges.
Maybe it’s a customer service issue or a scary sales situation but you know the old way of doing something no longer works like it should. Use these tips to help prepare you for the next time you need to be challenged.
Avoid Stagnation
If you think of change as a constant in business, you’ll likely panic less when a challenge suddenly appears. You’ll be used to the idea of trying different things or questioning current best practices.
Businesses become stuck when employees hold onto a past they believe will never stop producing success. Do you remember that Kodak developed the first digital consumer camera? But the company ultimately made a big mistake, when it sat on the technology, for fear that it might hurt film sales. Meanwhile, others saw the potential of digital photography and ran with it.
Look for opportunities to explore new things and maybe sunset some old best practices. Even if you just stay informed, you’ll be one step ahead when a future demand for change arrives.
Discover Possibilities
When I worked in TV news, I would sometimes edit my own stories. It was fun to have a vision for a story and then see it materialize through pictures and sound.
But it could also be a frustrating process because sometimes you might not have a shot that you really needed. The photographer may have missed it, didn’t know they were supposed to get it, or there may have been an equipment problem.
Whatever the case, the shot you need is not there. Meanwhile the clock is ticking, quickly counting down until your story needs to air.
While these moments produced frustration, they also provided inspiration. Because after realizing your vision for the story would not work, you would think of a different or even better way to tell it.
But you don’t get to that epiphany, without being challenged by the limitations of the moment.
In your business, start to look at challenges as opportunities to do things a different way. Sure, these times can be stressful in the moment but the journey to success may take you to some productive and profitable places.
Support for Stretching
As a leader, have you created a culture where employees are encouraged to research and try new things? The need to be challenged must start from the top of an organization or department. If the boss shoots down every new idea, then you likely won’t see a lot of innovation.
This support also applies to when new things don’t work out. Like baseball, where a 30% hitting average is seen as successful, people need to be given the opportunity to strike out, without fear of losing their jobs.
What’s Needed?
The need to be challenged may exposure shortcomings in your business. Employees may need more training or just time to learn.
Sometimes, to address a challenge, you’ll need to buy new equipment. Years ago, to enjoy the benefits of a digital office, everyone needed a computer.
Talk to your team to come up with budgets for equipment upgrades. You also want to define the time you want people to spend on research. It could be as simple as an hour a month.
Without some kind of verbalized commitment, this time may be lost during busy days. Before long, it’s never done. So make sure people understand research time is an important part of the job.
Some may worry about whether employees will just use the time to surf the internet and buy shoes. If that’s the case, then ask people to provide you with a paragraph about what they learned and why it could matter to your business.
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