When you know there is something that is not working in your business do you ever take on the “I’ve Tried That” attitude? It is nearly impossible to make a significant change in your business if you are not willing to take insight from ideas and suggestions you get from your peers, mastermind partners or mentors.
Here is my #1 tip for stopping yourself from sabotaging your chance to make a change.
When someone offers you an idea your answer can never be “Yes, but”. For example, someone in one of my mastermind groups receives some insight from a partner in the group and it is something they have tried before they are not allowed to say, “Yes, that is a good idea but I’ve already tried and it didn’t work.” This shuts down the conversation and the discovery thought process.
The magic of strategic thinking comes from accepting every idea as a new idea. What you will find is you will view it differently. You may find that there was a slightly different way you could have implemented that would have made a huge difference in the outcome or you might find that you have successfully tried all aspects of that strategy and you should move on. So my suggestion is to answer like this:
“Yes, that is a good idea. What do you think I could have done differently when I tried this?”
With this answer you don’t shut down your partners and you’ll get a much deeper insight into your challenges.
Great post Barb,
I’m reminded of when I was active in improv and the number one rule was “Always say YES”
It might sound like a simple, and silly rule, but in truth it dramatically changed the outcome of any improvisational situation.
When a player would say “What a great day to go for a walk in the park” another player instantly had a choice: they could say “no it doesn’t” effectively killing the scene, or say “yes, its an amazing day outside, we should pack a lunch” allowing the scene to take shape.
This was a great lesson in acting, and an even better one for personal development and business growth.