5 Steps to a Business Breakthrough
It happens to most of us. We feel stuck at the current level of results or we feel stuck because no results are coming in.
What does it take to get yourself unstuck?
What are the stages that my successful clients have used to turn around boredom/anxiety into a business breakthrough?
1. The Path to Flow: Uplevel the Challenge
There comes a point before a business breakthrough where people decide if they are bigger than their challenges. At times, the stakes are so high that you could go either direction; doom or glory.
This occurs even when people are not facing dire circumstances; what they are facing is being stuck in comfort. They realize the pains and costs of staying comfortable – lethargy is overtaken with a thirst and hunger for something bigger. They realize that they are willing to invest and take the risk for the potential return.
Of course, they could fail. But staying comfortable would be worse than failing.
Starting Suggestion: Look to see where you are staying comfortable in your business and where and how you desire to stretch. What would be different for you if you stretched?
If you are unable to find an area to stretch in your current business, then are you willing to think bigger and look at a more expansive vision? Are you willing to invest the time, money, and energy to take your business or results to the next level?
2. Clear Your Mind: Have an aggressive short term plan to handle aggressive short term problems
Once you have a strong compelling vision, the next question to ask is are you willing to let small short-term issues that have been persistent items on your to-do list stand in the way of progress?
Starting Suggestion: Compile a list of these short-term issues. If they are long-term, chunk them down into smaller chunks for the short term. What would be an aggressive but rational plan towards resolving the short-term items? Give yourself 1-hour block of time in the next few days to resolve whilst you work on the long-term business breakthroughs. Put more oxygen on your future.
3. Create Focus on What is Important – Think Long Term: Vision and Long Term Objectives
Now that you have committed and are beginning to clear your mind of ‘clutter’, it is time to start putting even more oxygen on your future. You may notice that from time to time, you will fall back into past and short-term issues.
I have to admit that nobody is immune to this tendency – no matter how great you are. The primary difference between the mindset of success and the mindset of resignation is the ability to get back to focusing on what you want to generate for the future.
This is a practice that people get better at – but you have to practice and have reminders and systems to make sure that you remember to do this.
Recently I had a client who had been very successful in a software start-up but sales were beginning to slip even more – they had been slipping for the last 2 years.
He told me how ‘comfortable’ he was with the state of things – he had enough money on his own to more than thrive. But he was not satisfied with the state of things – he had lost his sense of purpose and his sense of engagement with the business. He had been toying with the idea of going into a different and more exciting target market but his excuse for not doing so was that he had no transition plan.
When he looked at the balance sheet of his life – on one hand, he had enough money, on the other hand, he was not happy at all – he decided to get this team together with me to create a transition plan. I suggested we set a deadline to come up with at least two draft-level transition plans in an hour and a half. The team was surprised but grateful that their beloved leader had ‘come out of his coma’ and exceeded expectations with five possible transition plans.
There is a renewed sense of purpose and focus.
4. Super Charge Focus, Second Stage Stress Reduction – Embrace a New Form of Intelligent Planning
The next stage involves diving deeper with slightly more detailed plans with clear milestones. These should not be rigidly done but done with some flexibility with regard to changes that may occur.
This initial course setting gives a guide to the brain to ‘not go crazy’ because you have no plan. It calms the nerves but also gives a good solid starting ground to keep fine-tuning the plan to make sure you are on track. Typically when you work with a good coach or a person so who can skillfully listen for distractions versus focus – there is an increased chance of success.
5. Connect your short term objectives to long term objectives and vision – Embrace a New form of Accountability
If you are consistently looking at how to connect your short term objectives with your longer-term objectives and vision, you will start
having alignment – where your ‘gears are all going in the same direction’.
This new form of accountability has more to do with making a future set of objectives happen than finding cause and fault.
This creates one type of environment to yield a business breakthrough. Have I oversimplified? You betcha. However, the basics have been stated in this article. The customization of this process to your situation needs to be done mindfully and with alacrity – it can be done.
It begins with your decision to do so.
Enjoy your success and the path towards it – no matter how strenuous the effort may seem!
If you’re ready for your next business breakthrough, contact me or follow me on LinkedIn.
Since 1991, I’ve been reflecting on, designing, and implementing methodologies and systems for bringing a transcendent, creative and innovative approach to critical aspects of entrepreneurship.
My current work isn’t focused as much with established business owners. But you’re right, Sunil – those not thinking long-term will suffer when they’re forced to.. that’s why I created my Udemy Course on “Building a Business You Can Sell.” No aff link, of course, but folks can either follow me on Quora or contact me via LinkedIn for more questions.