As business owners, we often like to fool ourselves into believing what is convenient, or comforting. We paint a rosy picture of how well our business is doing, and ignore the signs around us. We tell ourselves, if we just work harder, everything will be ok.
It's sometimes easier to convince ourselves that we have no unhappy customers, and that the products and services we are offering are exactly what our customers want. After all, we're the boss. We're in control. We begin working too much "in our business" instead of working "on our business". Our ability to make good decisions and to be objective about our business becomes more difficult over time.
Deep down we know that kidding ourselves in the short term will lead to problems and stress in the long run. The truth is, what we think about our own business is irrelevant. It's what consumers think about our business that really matters. Choosing to ignore the truth can be very risky in today's economy. Consumer behaviour has changed, and so have the strategies that made many of us successful in the past. Somewhere along the way, the rules of the game have changed. The question we need to ask ourselves now is – are we adapting to the changes.
Surviving in business today requires humility – lots of it. It means leaving our ego at the door each morning when we show up for work. It requires that we become very good at asking questions, and even better at listening to what others have to say. The answers are out there. We just need to decide what's more important to our success; holding on to what we think, or embracing what others think to face the challenges ahead.
