I walked in a room with the Mariner’s game on this weekend just as an M’s player drove one down the right field line. The runner on second scored easily and as the runner on first sped around third base he looked back to see where the ball was, thus ignoring his coach who was signaling stop, and was out at home on a close play.
Peggy Noonan wrote in the Wall Street Journal last Saturday about how the politicians and activists in Kansas went for too much and their abortion bill was clobbered. In her opinion, the voters did want an extreme position (on either end of the spectrum).
The commonality of these two stories is not listening to those who matter; a coach in one case and constituents in the other. We know most politicians only listen to supporters with big money (to donate) and/or who are the loudest. But what about the rest of us?
A wise person told me years ago that if he gets 50% of his decisions right, he’s going to do fantastic. His key was to make the decision and move on. What I hear from a lot of business owners can be summed up with, “We’ve always done it this way (so we’ll keep doing it this way).”
Business buyers see the latter as opportunity. And that’s where advisors come in whether it’s an individual, a facilitated peer-to-peer support group, or a board of directors (or advisory board). To allow firms to stay up-to-date and more efficient.
The key is to listen to the advice and act on it. Especially when the advice will get you out of the “we’ve always done it this way” rut.
“Rock ‘n’ roll might not solve your problems, but it does let you dance all over them.” Pete Townsend
“I am always realizing how very little I know. Never call yourself an expert and never claim write the complete book of anything.’ (Cookbook author) Diana Kennedy
