Collaborate. Get a partner. Ask for input. Find a mentor. Who has time for that, anyway?

If you don’t, you’re selling yourself – and your business – short. It’s much, much too easy keep moving forward the way things have been. What happens then: you don’t see the mistakes you’re making. Which means, your business doesn’t perform as well as it could.

What You Get

Better decisions. We’ve all seen how just one scared employee can throw decision-making completely out of whack. How otherwise practical business owners allow compassion for the personal situation of an underperformer to get on top of them. It takes about two minutes for an outsider to see the problem and point out your mistake. Well, make it ten minutes, if you’re planning to vent.

Positive change. Every one of us has held on to outdated technology, underperforming staff, and old beliefs about customers, long past their due date. A smart outsider will bring perspective, cut through the emotion, and point out the obvious. The results we’ve seen: greatly improved productivity using better technology, increased profitability through redesigned business models, marginal employees replaced with high performers who push the company forward – too many to count or name here.

Some cost. You will need to invest time and energy to make the change. You might also need to make an investment – in our case, last month, we decided to pay a few hundred dollars per year for technology that saves every staff member time every single day. You might actually save money, as more experienced staffers do work better and faster, or as younger employees with a great attitude push better relationships with customers and increase retention.

How To Find It

How do you find someone who won’t laugh at your mistakes? Well, you can hire consultants like us, or you could just toughen up a little on your own. One of the best things we do here is consistently reach out to our key advisors: our amazing attorney, the head of an international branding and marketing agency, a really smart, tough business owner, our finance consultant, and a young, passionate new marketer – among others. How did we get their help? We asked. That’s right, I set aside my ego, put on my big girl panties, and asked for input.

Sure enough, it works.

October 24, 2013