People I read, work with, overhear, listen to, casually encounter (etc) seem to fall into roughly three camps regarding the current economy’s job situation:
- The President (Governor, Mayor, City, County, State, whatever) should give me a job or create one for me.
- The President (etc) should stay out of it and let natural market forces fix the economy – letting the chips falls where they may.
- The President (etc) has little or no power over my personal economy. Only I can determine and exert any control over its condition.
As you might guess, I tend to fall in the third camp – one that’s populated by folks of both major political persuasions. My choice of that camp is mostly due to having no patience for the interminable (and often pointless) wait required for options one and two. The rest comes from personal experience.
This is where most would begin their crusade to change your worldview. I’ve no time for such nonsense.
Rather than try to move you to another camp (a rather impossible task not unlike teaching a pig to sing), today’s yammering focuses on those in the “I can determine and exert control” camp.
If that’s not your thing, consider it an interim solution until economy fits your worldview. Or turn the page.
The solution: Solve the biggest, toughest problem you can find.
But don’t just solve it and move on. Solve it madly. Passionately.
The natural question
The next natural question you might ask is going to be “So…what problem should I solve?”
That’s the hard part, of course. How should I know what the big hairy audacious must-solve-problem is in your business? I could toss some suggestions out there, but I don’t claim to be Mister Wizard of your market.
If I can point it out from afar (and without your experience in the market), it shouldn’t be easy for a newbie to your market to spot the all-encompassing, why-didn’t-we-think-of-that solution to the mega-problem in your market.
On the other hand, maybe you can’t see the forest for the trees.
Oh yeah, those customers of yours
Those customer type folks can help you with that. What, you say? Ask CUSTOMERS? Yes, I know. Sacrilege, but try it anyhow.
Here are some questions that might help:
- What are we making too difficult?
- What part of your business would be (wildly?) profitable if you could just get past one challenge? (and what is it?)
- Is there a part of your business that we aren’t doing anything to help you with? What challenges you in that division?
- If you could knock off one big-ticket-achievement that would make you a superstar, what would it be? What part(s) of that are beyond your reach? What if they weren’t (what you think is) beyond your abilities or resources?
Deeper
Finally, don’t forget that customers get stuck in that forest and trees situation too.
They need help seeing seeing past their current reality. It’s common for me to find a business that has products or services that (could) reach well beyond their current market and existing customer base. It’s just that they never considered others. Sometimes we find a business buried inside theirs that’s just aching to get out and grow on its own.
Three million people didn’t write Apple and ask them to build the iPad, nor did they see it missing on shelves at Best Buy. They had to think hard about their customers.
What can you create that your customers never considered? Ask way too many “What if” and “Why cant we” questions of yourselves, your market and your customers. It’ll often yield the kind of answers you seek.
What would the leader in your market do?
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site or contact him via email at mriffey at flatheadbeacon.com.