In a world full of unsolicited feedback, in business, how do you know which advice to take and which advice to toss?
The fact is there is no one that knows your business better than you do, because you are the one that created it or are operating it, depending on your role. That being said, kind of like our lives, the closest things to us can be our biggest blind spots. Just because we know something intimately doesn’t mean that an outsider’s perspective couldn’t be the help that catapults us to the next level.
Recently, I was listening to a podcast and thinking about the amount of content that is available right now online. In 2019 enough people have contributed to the Internet of things that there’s pretty much anything you could ever want to find to backup your theory or argument. It can be hard to get sound advice when almost anyone is ready to jump on board and cosign your opinion.
What I’ve realized is that it’s less about the right keywords and more about understanding what questions to ask. If you know your business and know why it exists, use that when filtering through the enormous amount of information we have access to.
Think about what your vision of the business is. What would the mission of your business be if that business was a person, and he or she woke up every day to spend their time on it? What would fulfill that? Are you allowing your customers to inform these decisions, or are they based on a series of tired principles? All of these things are guiding questions to lead you to the advice you can trust.
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, says that you should have your own personal board of directors. I love this idea, because who doesn’t need a solid few people in their lives to bounce ideas off of?
We live in a generation where running a business can feel lonely. Having the access to all sorts of content can be confusing. So, look to the outside and reach out to your peers for advice. Use the internet to learn about other businesses that are successful in what they are doing, and maybe that something is risky and new.
Find your personal board of directors. Don’t be afraid to fall on your face and try something different. Your business is your mission and your vision, use what you have to make it come to life.
Lindsey Rainwater is a business advisor, founder, writer and keynote speaker in the fitness and wellness industry. For more information, follow Rainwater on Twitter @LindseyRainH2o.
