Most businesses today have a fatal flaw that will take down their entire client base. It’s the fear of doing something . . . anything . . . NEW. They know it ‘might’ fail — so they do nothing.
I’m here to tell you that doing nothing (most of the time) is worse than failing. Why?
Let me give you an example:
Let’s say you’re quite sick. Now many people will disregard the symptoms, say they are not sick — because they feel that the diagnosis or the treatment will be worse or possibly hurt them more than the illness. So they do nothing. What they don’t understand is that the initial reason why they are sick is not being addressed — and it will slowly grow to infect other parts of their body.
Now if they just tried one type of treatment or just went to the doctor and asked for a complete work-up, they would at least make a positive move forward in treating their sickness. Let’s say it failed – they should try something else. And something else — ad infinitum — until they felt better.
I did this with a recurring allergy. I first went to my general practitioner who gave me LOTS of pills. Nothing happened. So I went to a specialist. They took tests (63 pokes of a needle) and also gave me LOTS of pills. I got a little better, but then it came back. I then finally tried an old, but simple cure (a Neti Pot). Guess what? It worked. And I feel GREAT.
It’s like business. People will just act like nothing is wrong and “stay the course” while they see their clients and profits drain away. The problem is that they are afraid of taking any action — it might be wrong — it might worsen the situation — they might lose the business.
But at the end of the day, they need to understand that what is making their business sick can be cured. Here’s the simple process:
- Realize that you’re sick. You might get better, but you’re probably going to get sicker. And sicker. And then die.
- Understand why you’re sick. Get a good diagnosis. Find out what the causal elements are — Get the facts. Work with a partner or coach.
- Take action. Make a list of possible treatments — list them by how much effort (time, money, resources) they will take and what impact they will make.
- Pick one and take action . . . NOW. Accountability is key.
It’s that simple. As Nike says: “Just Do It.”