Even without the events of 2020, as we roll towards the end of the year, the weariness starts to set in. We are not ready to take a peek over the parapet to even begin to think about how we would like 2021 and beyond to roll out for our businesses. But what if we took a different approach this year? What if, instead we decided to think big .. bigger than what we have done before. Thinking big widens your horizons and it all begins with a single thought that if nurtured, tested and cultivated can grow into something more. What can you be doing that may have been impossible before and now may be possible. Can you start carving out new rough tracks to unknown destinations?
Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, (you might remember him for is famous funny and authentic YouTube videos providing a glimpse into what its like to be in space), talks about this thing called the “Overview Effect”. He says a lot of astronauts experience this during spaceflight when they are orbiting the earth. It is the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space.. you see it as a tiny, fragile ball of life, “hanging in the void”, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect earth becomes both obvious and imperative.
The overview effect reminds us that often we get caught up in the locality of our view of the world and our most immediate challenges.. ourselves, our work, our community and our economy and forget to think from a global perspective… are what we doing really a smaller piece of the same puzzle. If we have learnt anything from the events of the last year, it has shown us that as communities and businesses we are still working too short term, we need to look further ahead and put our current events into a bigger reality. In our experience those that have made this a practice in their business in the last 12 months have seen growth even in times of considerable change. That single thought could really create growth and opportunity for you and the people around you in your business and community.
Lets put this back into the perspective of our small businesses. Japanese businesses have a practice of developing 100 to 250 year plans. How can we combine long term thinking with the western habit of short term unsustainable thinking and make the concept of 100 year plans work for us. To grow your business you must think big .. yes your story will evolve over time, but you must refine how you think and act and face emerging challenges.
A great quote from Dr Sarah McKay from the Neuroscience Academy recently said on the Small Business Forum …. “don’t just think it you need to act it .. acting it tells your brain it is real”. Don’t just think about that single thought…. act as if it is happening. If you missed the Small Business Forum last week.. you can check out the latest podcast of “On Track” and listen to Sarah and our other panellists share their insights into resilient mindset.
Here some of my tips on how to think big:
- Allocate time to thinking big .. consider it dreaming .. allow yourself to think about what is possible.. collect all of those thoughts and use decision making tools like 6 thinking hats to put those ideas through some level of scrutiny
- Get comfortable with not knowing …embrace the uncertainty paradox
- Set the right sort of goals.. are you clear on what mountain you plan to climb …
- Set some constraints.. Seth Godin talks about the importance of constraints and how having some sort of boundaries narrows your focus
If you want to learn more .. come along to the last Small Business Forum of the year on the 13th November and hear from people who have already been there… Get your free tickets here .
Jayne Arlett
Small Business Resilience Strategist
For over 25 years, Jayne Arlett has been applying Big Business Mindset on small businesses of all kinds and has seen massive results. From $50,000 businesses to $1million her techniques and practical exercises have worked across the board—no matter the industry, business, or market. She has built businesses from ground up to $10 Million annual revenue. She also is a Non-Executive Director small non-profits through to major organisations turning over $1 Billion. She believes that the biggest difference between those that succeed and those that fail is how you think about your business. Jayne is all about helping small business owners build their success through building a Big Business Mindset.
Don McKenzie
Business Lifecycle & Growth Specialist
Don has built businesses both organically and by acquisition in different parts of the world. He led an Australian company to list on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), and was the youngest Managing Director of an ASX listed business at that time. Don is involved with the Queensland Government Mentoring for Growth program, and is an active investor in the Brisbane Angels network. Don found Adizes during his journey as a private and then public company Managing Director and CEO. He now uses the methodology, coupled with his experience from owning small and large businesses, to help other businesses get to Prime.
Kelly Jamieson
Edible Entrepreneur
Edible Blooms is an e-commerce business that delivers a smile somewhere in the world every 2 minutes. Kelly is also a busy Mum trying her best with the daily juggle of precious time with my husband and 2 children, and the tempting lure of her first child – Edible Blooms. Technology and scalable systems have been a key part of the Edible Blooms journey. It’s this foundation that allows Kelly to work part of her week from the family farm on the beautiful coast of regional South Australia. Edible Blooms has a growing team across Aust, NZ and the UK and are passionate, excitable and authentic in our desire to create smiles and deliver happiness.