Often in discussions of successful businesses, the question
of common sense enters the conversation. These discussions always raise the
question of why business owners cannot just use common sense in the operation
of their businesses especially since some of the more intelligent practices
would seem to be no more than common sense.
As business owners we are always being “pitched” by the
“experts” with their methods that are the next best version of whatever we need
to be successful. Some of these proposals are reruns of methods that have been
successful over the years and are proven over many applications in various
businesses. These methods, or approaches, have a track record of success and
are nothing new in their basics.
On the other hand, there are always the proposals that
appear so new that they may be seen as radical. While it is always possible for
a business owner to attempt to apply strategy that may be new or radical, one
should do their homework and research new approaches so that surprises are not
commonplace. The application of some common sense should be in the forefront of
decision making and in the application of any idea.
As always, the business owner who attempts to try anything
new must be willing to shift gears and undo their decision if necessary. There
is nothing incorrect in trying a new, or even radical, approach to anything. Continuing
to follow a path that is clearly not working would be as wrong as never trying
any approach other than the one that fostered a problem in the first place.
So how does a business owner “discover” the methods that
they should apply to their business that will be successful? While there is no
guaranteed method of business, or even of researching various proposals of
operation, common sense can lead us to our decisions. There are various actions
that we just know will result in wrong or right results. We must use our common
sense in business leadership.
We have all had various experiences in our business as well
as our personal lives. We have gained knowledge and information that should be
utilized in our business operations in the future. Failing to utilize that
knowledge and information is a waste of our experience and may doom our business
success. To do otherwise would be refusing to apply common sense.
Looking at your business from the viewpoint of the customer,
or even from the viewpoint of the employee, should be one of the basics of your
operation. Treating your customers, and employees, as you would want to be
treated is a fundamental of successful business. Deciding on business
operational methods based on these basics of decision making always reflects
good common sense.
Reach out to
your networking partners and ask for their advice, on business operational
questions and on what methods to try for different results. Your partners may
have more common sense than you do. Perhaps you need an “expert” to help you
see these common sense approaches to business operation, but a networking
partner might be able to guide you also.
Making it easy for customers to do business with us is just
good common sense. We should look for other common sense based methods of
operation. Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com,
or call me at 360-314-8691.
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