The following article was written by Steve Scott with small businesses in mind, but as authorpreneurs we need to consider our writing from a small business perspective, and this article demonstrates the need for flexibility.
INFLEXIBILITY: BE FLEXIBLE AND YOU WILL EMBRACE CHANGE AND SUCCESS
Inflexibility is one of the deadly mistakes that can prevent small business growth or cause a small business to fail.
Inflexibility can be demonstrated in an unwillingness to think differently which is reflected in a negative attitude toward change. To stay competitive and to remain profitable it is essential to embrace change.
A successful performance strategy for growing small business must include flexibility. After all, if you don’t embrace change you will be run over by it.
The following shows the humorous, and often truthful responses, that come when people resist change and are inflexible.
Inflexibility is the enemy of personal growth, success and achievement.
The Top Ten Strategies For Dealing With A Dead Horse
1. Buy a stronger whip.
2. Change riders
3. Appoint a committee to study the horse.
4. Appoint a team to revive the horse.
5. Send out a memo declaring the horse isn’t really dead.
6. Hire an expensive consultant to find “the real problem.”
7. Harness several dead horses together for increased speed and efficiency.
8. Rewrite the standard definition of a live horse.
9. Declare the horse to be better, faster, and cheaper when dead.
10. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.
Most of you have probably seen these solutions enacted at some point in your business career or life.
So, how do you deal with the challenge of inflexibility. When your horse is dead and your inflexibility is causing you to hold onto something that isn’t working, dismount.
Small business coaching is about helping people to learn how to dismount, let go of thoughts and processes that aren’t working and to bury them. Only once the things that don’t work are buried or put in a safe place, may you move forward.
And, the way to move forward is to come up with a new performance strategy. Embrace change. Embrace flexibility. The first step to bring you the success you desire is to change your thinking.
Once you change your thinking you will change your habits. When you change your habits your will start changing your activity and ultimately, your results.
Dismounting a familiar horse, your old way of doing things can be painful. But the pain of this change will be weighed in ounces.
The pain that comes from not dismounting is worse. It is weighed in tons. When you dismount, just like the cowboys in the old western movies, you will be able to mount a live horse and gallop forward to the success you desire.
