Using outside perspectives to gain clarity.

I’ve come to realise that if you truly want to fix your business.

If you truly want to grow as an entrepreneur or business owner. 

You need outside help. 

As good as you are, you will never have the unique outside perspective or objective clarity that others will have who can observe from a distance.

A good example of this is - You know how it's easier to advise a friend what to do when they’re stuck than it is to give yourself advice?

Or how you can often see where improvements are needed in other people's businesses, but not your own.

The reality is, when you’re too close to the action, or when it requires deep self-awareness, it’s almost impossible to see a clear pathway forward (especially while you're in the weeds).

Outsiders never have this type of baggage. 

The big picture is often clearer to them. 

And when you take your detailed understanding of the problem or the business and mash it with their unique perspective as an outsider, it's like strapping yourself to a growth rocket. 

The most obvious example of this is coaching. 

For years I hated the idea of business coaches. 

I literally told myself that they were a group of people who didn’t make it in the business world and therefore switched to advising others.

Now, there are still those people out there just like there are crappy operators in any industry.

But that thought was holding me back from seeing the benefits of a great coach or exploring outside help altogether.

Instead, I went at it alone for decades learning everything the hard way (which is really slow and expensive).

Then, at the advice of someone else a couple of years ago, I engaged a coach to help me progress personally and work with our whole senior leadership team. 

The value he provided us during some of the hardest projects and most challenging personal decisions last year is hard to put a price on.

It’s been transformational. 

But this email isn’t really about coaching. 

It’s about making you aware that you never get the best results trying to figure things out solo. 

My points are:

1. Triangulating information is essential.
2. Getting outside perspectives is invaluable.
3. And understanding that you often can’t see things clearly when you’re too close to the action.

And you don’t need to launch into expensive coaching sessions to get transformational results. 

Here are a few other ways you can access valuable insights:

Hire people from outside your industry

Hiring people outside your industry brings a very unique lens. You rarely get the ‘that’s how things are done’ type answer from them.

They’ll question why because they haven’t been conditioned to think like people in your industry. 

Do interviews with new hires within the first month

All new hires come in from other organisations with different experiences.

Often their lens isn’t obscured from working at the same pace for years and they can provide really valuable insights about what’s not working as a comparison.

Bring in consultants and advisors

These people are normally results-focused and are helpful to quickly overcome a specific problem. 

Ask technical supplier Reps for advice

Supplier Representatives see lots of other businesses just like yours. 

It’s like an all-access pass into your competitor's businesses across the country.

Obviously you don’t want to steal trade secrets, but they are good for benchmarking advice - understanding what the industry is doing, what challenges they're facing and how others have overcome them.

Lastly...

Ask to meet other entrepreneurs for a coffee.

They get you.

And they've often experienced and overcome similar challenges.

And as far as business advice goes, you’re better off asking people who actually run businesses instead of the closest person to you at the time (ie family and friends). 

The key to all of this is to not sit in a funk for too long. 

Ask for help and gain value from the unique lens of outsiders.

It's often the fastest way to remove roadblocks for you and your business. 

I hope it helps.