About Purpose is about your purpose.
Aim: Identify and articulate your purpose.
Arm: Shape yourself around your purpose.
Act: Achieve your purpose.
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Business Advice - Seek It Even If You Don't Take It
Bob Ryan, About Purpose, Inc. ©2007
Why is it that so many business owners have a hard time seeking advice? Most of us are surrounded by resources but still make unilateral decisions without seeking anyone's input. Just today on The Alternative Board® Hotline, an internet-based business discussion group, a facilitator talked about one of his board members going out and signing a 5-figure contract with a national consulting group to help with internal systems. What's wrong with this picture? Let me count the ways:
- By its very definition, The Alternative Board® is a peer coaching group, so this member had 7-9 very accomplished CEOs and a very competent professional coach he could have checked with before signing this contract.
- There is easily accessible information on the internet about this particular national consulting group that, at the very least, would have caused this member to pause before signing anything.
- The CEO in question undoubtedly belongs to other groups such as a Chamber, Rotary, professional organization, and trade group. He could have posed the question easily in any of those forums.
Why didn't he ask before committing himself to such an expensive action? Why didn't he check references? Frankly, I'm baffled.
I belong to a networking group with whom I meet every week - about 40-50 people strong. Almost every week, in conversations before breakfast, I have to bite my tongue as someone relates taking an action that will almost be certain to cause him or her trouble or cost extra money. No sense bringing it up now, they've already committed time and resources to it. Yet here they are, surrounded by 40+ mature business people and they never ask for advice.
Sure I'm biased because my business is giving advice in business, but the bias is based on the sad experience of seeing so many people sail off on their own into uncharted waters when there's a perfectly capable navigator standing right next to them.
Seek advice.
You don't necessarily have to take it, but ignoring the counsel of so many people around you is just foolhardy. You are still responsible to take the actions you think best, but if your thinking is closed and uninformed, what kind of decisions are you making?
Seek advice.
Here are just a few ways that you can improve your own decision making by seeking advice. Join a peer mentoring group of non-competing CEOs specifically set up to focus attention and resources on building your business. (A shameless plug, but call me about The Alternative Board®) Join a networking group in which you will be around other mature business people on an ongoing basis (and then attend regularly). Get active in your trade association or professional group. Don't like groups? Then just find a mutual accountability partner you can have coffee with once a week.
Finally, talk about your ideas and plans. Seek advice - even if you don't take it.