“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining who we are”

Be – Do – Have

Who we are ‘being’ determines what we do and what we have.  This is as true of  businesses and organisations as it is of individuals.

One of the hidden barriers to growing a business is the desire that we may have to do the things that are familiar, to stay in our ‘comfort zone’; or let the ‘glass ceiling’ determine our aspirations and results.

When building a business, the owner is must step into unfamiliar territory; and it usually is accepted that they must do this once or twice?  But the reality is that they must continue to do this as the business builds and becomes more complex.  Failure to do so will see the owner actually slowing or preventing the growth.  It is essential to be-come more by accepting the discomfit of the unfamiliar and develop new skills and capabilities.

To keep stepping out into the unfamiliar takes clarity of purpose and yes some courage.  The courage is needed often, not to tackle the new but to leave behind the comfortable, including leaving behind the colleagues and peers who would hinder your growth (and the growth of the business).

We spend much of our lives working to make ourselves and our families comfortable, so it is really understandable that there is sometimes hesitation to search out the changes that are needed.  Sometimes we need someone to help us, push us into unfamiliar territory, in order that we may fly.

Often I see this hesitation right at the moment that a business or an individual is poised to reach a new level.  Often we have had the courage to learn a new skill, delegate responsibility, tackle a new marketing initiative but something stops us implementing what we need to do to make this a new capability in the business.

A business leader has the responsibility, not only to themselves and their family but also to their employees and their families, of growing their business in a way that makes it capable of meeting the opportunities the market presents.  If a leader is not prepared to evolve ahead of their business they will consciously or unconsciously cap the growth of their own business,  The opportunity will be grasped by someone else..

To build a business is to commit to a personal course of growth that comes from continually leaving behind things that are not longer relevant.  Might sound obvious but to grow is to no longer be the same.

So in order for Be Do Have to work effectively in today’s fast changing environment the question we need to always be asking is:  Who am I be-coming?  We need to decide to belong to the be-coming club not the ‘should-be’ club.

It is no longer an option to belong to the should-be club if you want to take advantage of the opportunities being presented by the new demands of customers.  There is simply too much choice.

Choosing to belong to the ‘be-coming club’ may require you to get some support for a while.  If you would like to talk about where you think you are, and what ‘support’ might look like and cost email  bridget@creatingwhatmatters.co.nz