Next?

It doesn’t matter what we do as business people, there is always the question of what we do next. What is our next idea, strategy, or move? When we attend a seminar, what is our next move to implement what we learned? If we are just starting out in business, what is our first strategy to attract customers? It is always about what is next.

It doesn’t matter at what point we are in our businesses, we must always be thinking at least one, but preferably several, moves ahead. We believe that to do less would be to fall behind, to become a follower, and we don’t want to be seen as anything other than a leader. We may believe that status would make others think less of us.

When we attend a seminar or webinar, or even read a book about improving our operation, we learn how to make our business better. We are presented with steps to take to make that improvement and how to judge the results. We have a blueprint for success that has been tried and tested. All we have to do is to put the plan into action.

What about our fear of being seen as a follower, or as a copier of the work of others? From the day when we are born, we learn from others. If something that we learn makes our business better, who cares that we learned that plan from someone else? People who spend money on gaining information from someone else and do not use what they have learned are not wise business people; they waste money.

Obviously the next step would be to place the ideas, the plan, and the steps that we learned from somewhere else into action and see if it benefits our operation. Does whatever we learned help, or hinder, our business? Does it improve our operation, or does it make any difference at all? Did we implement what we learned correctly?

Maybe we are not clear as to how to implement what we learned. Perhaps we should consult with those who authored the ideas, or maybe we should speak with someone we know, a networking partner, who is familiar with the situation and the new ideas. Neither of these options shows that we are not able to lead our business, but will indicate that we make intelligent business decisions.

Whatever we do, we must make planning and implementation part of our business, a portion of our overall strategy. We cannot just react to events, we must plan and implement. We cannot only plan; we must take the next steps and put into action whatever we plan. The best plans are acted upon, not gathering dust in our desk. If we learn anything from someone else which works better, we should try to use it.

As business people we are responsible for the operation of our business and its continued accomplishments. It doesn’t matter where we learn what we use, as long as we gain that knowledge honestly. What matters is that we gain knowledge and use it correctly. Our networking partners might help us, or we may help them. That is why we have partnerships, and we must continue to build them better and stronger, everyday.

What is the next step for any of us? What is the next idea, plan, or action that we should undertake? How do we feel about learning from others and how that knowledge is being used? How does learning from others impact our own ego and what we do next? Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call me at 360-314-8691.