Step back and see clearly

Have you ever noticed that the closer you look at something the more out of focus it gets? Try holding your business card at the end of your nose and reading it and you’ll see what I mean.
As entrepreneurs and business owners, we all get stuck into our businesses and we often live and breathe every aspect of our baby, but occasionally we get too involved and all too often to our detriment. We pay lip service to the advice of others. We get hung up on the small niggling things that overwhelm us. We worry about everything with the same degree of importance from the cost of paperclips, to losing a new client pitch. We unnecessarily criticize our performance. We have easy habits. If you have a few days like this every week, then it’s time to make change and step back from the coalface. The value to you and your business in doing this can be immense.
So here’s a thought, step away from your business and see how much clearer it will appear. Here are 20 top tips for getting a clearer picture. Do all or some of the following:
- Go on holiday!
- Take a day off and write down all the things you can do differently
- Go to a museum or an art gallery for a whole day and use a dictaphone to record your thoughts on what you might do differently when you get back to work
- Turn off your phone for 3 days
- Listen to your own voicemail recording and see if it is due for a change
- Deactivate your email account for a week
- Don’t read anything for a week
- Stop using social media for a week
- Try writing a quote or proposal from scratch using only your memory
- Go and talk to a perfect stranger about your business challenges (an entrepreneurs coach perhaps!!)
- Write a story about your business journey so far
- Write down your top 5 specific business challenges
- Get yourself a coach
- Change the layout of your workspace
- Create a diversion day at work – fancy dress, job swaps, rent a new office for a day, create an improvement wall for ideas
- Write down 20 things you could do differently in your business
- Buy a brand new notepad and pen
- Try rewriting your to do list without looking at the existing one
- Ring your first ever client and ask why they bought from you
- Ask your bank manager what they would do if they ran your company
You may also find it easier if you discussed these thoughts with someone, so why not do exactly that. Nobody is expecting you to have all of the answers and maybe this is where an Executive Coach can help you. If you feel stuck, then why not give me a call and let’s explore what’s possible; you may be surprised in what you discover.
I love being an entrepreneur and thrive on hearing people’s stories, so come and share your journey with me.
Get in touch at piers@pierso.co.uk, call me on 073 666 55 666 or find me on Linked In or Facebook. I might be wrong, but I am never uncertain and I’ll certainly lend you an ear!