The Industry Expert Conundrum.

How often do you turn to someone you consider to be an “expert” for guidance and advice?

How often in your day to day life do you  find yourself talking about the same problems or issues over and over again to the same group of people,  and going around and around in circles - and then end up concluding that things are like it just because that is the way it is?

I see people talking about how to handle Millennials.  How recruitment of good people into the home services and trades industries is a growing problem.  How working extended hours in your business is an accepted norm.

But what I also see is that we are talking to the same kind of people as us, in a similar industry.  And they confirm to us that they are in the same boat. This is confirmation bias right there in action.  

Be aware of it.

It is the old adage - the same thinking that got you into your current situation is not the thinking that will get you out of it.

You know this - but on a day to day basis many business owners don’t live it.  Do you live it?

Consciously looking outside of your immediate area of expertise is a great place to go for inspiration on problem solving in your own business - as long as you are open to it.

If you are looking for reform, then you don’t ask the people currently running things for ideas, as anything they have to offer will be based within the very high walls of what they understand to be possible based upon their own experience only.

If Henry Ford had asked his customers what they wanted - he would have gone into breeding faster horses.

Creative thinking comes from experiencing diversity, contrast and variety.  So a good question to ask yourself is - where is that coming from in your life?

A great place to start is to join a voluntary organisation and spend some time with people you would never usually work with.  Join a group for business owners generally. Listen. Take what you hear and apply what you think will help you to your business.

Specific industry knowledge is a good thing - but you will get a real shift if you take off your blinkers and look outside what you consider to be the norm.