Every B2B business owner or senior exec
with whom I speak offers a similar take on business. It’s tough to grow.The normal answer is something like “We’re doing OK. You know we’re holding our own and showing some growth.” And there’s always a ‘but’ implied by tone. Later in the uae telemarketing database conversation that ‘but’ becomes clear and is usually some form of “But growth isn’t fast enough to:”
create opportunity for family growing into the business
maintain a wide comfort margin over loan covenants
strengthen performance adequately in preparation for a planned liquidity event
generate enough free cash to invest in the proactive programs to support future growth
“But your worldview, by its nature, keeps you from seeing the world as it is.” Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception
The curse of your “lizard brain”
“Just because you have risen to a senior leadership position doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any easier to walk through your fear. Frankly it’s a hell of a lot easier to say “no” to a new venture than to risk being wrong or looking foolish. As leaders we can do better than defaulting to the least risky position, to letting our lizard brain win.
If we are going to say “no”
we need to know what a “yes” looks like. And we need to be able to communicate that to those we lead. And when they come back having addressed our concerns and resolved our doubts, then we owe them that “yes.” It takes guts to say yes, and you owe it to your team to be clear and consistent about what earns a “yes.” Your job is to use your guts, not to hide them.” Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception
b2b business development
requires overcoming fearFear (and it’s siblings and cousins) live in our amygdala – the part of the brain that has been programmed over thousands of years to “play it safe.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean risk free – signing a personal guarantee isn’t risk free, but doing so based on a traditional business plan reassures our amygdala that we’re not taunting the dinosaur. We’re playing the game the right way.
And often manufacturing and engineering minds are particularly attuned to this natural line of thinking. Working through a very linear analysis, plenty of rational facts are available to reinforce traditional approaches and support the emotional (and maybe outside investor and advisor) demand for conservative stability.