If you’re part of a building materials company, you know your business better than anyone else. It doesn’t matter if you’re in sales, marketing, or management, you have a front row seat to everything that’s happening.
But if you’ve ever sat in the front row at the movie theater, you know that’s not the best seat in the house. You have to crane your neck up to get a good look. You’re so close to the screen that you’re watching the middle of it and missing the details at the edges.
Who has the best view? The people in the middle and the back of the room. They can take in the entire screen comfortably. They can look at one corner of the screen without losing sight of what’s happening in the other ones.
Why am I going on about this? Because that’s what’s happening in your business.
You’re really close to the work you’re doing. You’ve got tasks to complete, numbers you’re trying to hit, projects you want to finish. There’s always something to do – a problem to solve, a fire to put out, a deadline to beat.
No one knows those day to day realities like you do.
That’s good. It helps you get better at what you do. It’s how you hone your skills and continually improve.
It can also be a problem. When you spend so much time focusing on the details of your work, you can lose sight of the bigger picture.
Breaking Past Your Plateau
When you’re good at your job, you get in a groove. You do the same kind of thing every day and get better at it. You do it more efficiently, your success rate goes up, you act with more confidence.
That’s great. It’s essential, even.
But a groove can turn into a rut. When it does, your company hits a plateau. You have a reliable base of satisfied customers. Your growth stabilizes. You’re doing fine, but you could be doing better.
Again, you’re good at what you do. The problem is that you might need to try something different.
If you’re in a rut, you probably don’t even realize it. When you’re in a rut you become predictable. Your competition and your customers know what you will do. You will improve your digital marketing instead of questioning how you go to market.
You can’t get past a plateau just by working harder. The way you’re doing business worked well, but it will only take you so far. To start seeing real growth again, you need a new approach.
What you need is a breakthrough.
You need that “ah ha!” moment that points you in the right direction. You need to change the game. You need that one great idea your competitors haven’t tried yet.
That kind of breakthrough delivers higher growth at better margins. It gives your customers a brand new reason to prefer you over the competition. It helps you differentiate yourself without slashing your prices.
Breakthroughs at that level don’t come from keeping your head down and doing your work. They come from taking a step back.
Take in the Whole Picture
You’re too close to your work. You can’t take in the big picture because you’re dealing with the details. You need to sit in the back row and see what it looks like when you take in the whole screen at once.
Otherwise, you’ll see the trees but miss the forest. You’ll be stuck in the status quo, walking down the same path every day instead of discovering new opportunities.
You’re great at what you do. Your team is too. It’s how you got where you are and why you’re still in business.
But often, what you need isn’t skill and talent – it’s change. You need to challenge the way you’re doing things. You need new ideas and approaches.
If you’ve hit a plateau, it’s time to step back. Take a fresh look at your business and find a new way to move forward.
Need a new perspective on your business? Sign up for the upcoming Whizard Summit to see the big picture and find your next breakthrough.
Past attendees have told me, “I learned a lot from the thought provoking expert speakers and from the other attendees. I really benefited by getting away for two days and seeing my business from a fresh perspective.. Every time I attend the Whizard Summit I come away with breakthrough ideas.
