What is the hardest thing for people to do? What is the
hardest thing for you to do?
Have you ever watched IDOL – the TV talent quest (or any show
like that) wondered ‘why has no-one ever told them that they
couldn’t sing’? But you see, people have told them that. They just failed to
accept it.
Because ACCEPTANCE is the hardest thing to do.
It is hard to…
-
accept who you are (and who you are not)
-
accept that there are things that you don’t
control
- accept that you are responsible for the things
that are wrong in your life (and business)
-
accept forgiveness
- accept that you may be wrong
-
accept responsibility
I could go on, but you get my drift. How does this apply in
life?
The prevalence of any number of addictions, from weight-loss
to drug addiction, is proof that people failed the acceptance test:
- They failed to accept that they have a problem
- They failed to accept personal responsibility
- They failed to accept help
The high divorce rates are symptomatic of:
- failure to accept each other
- failure to accept change
- failure to accept responsibility
- failure to accept differences
You may argue that failure to accept the status quo is the
stuff that great achievements and amazing innovations are made of. There is
some truth to that. But let’s no confuse discipline and perseverance with
denial of reality.
No matter how much you believe in ‘the secret’ or the ‘power
of dreams’, I doubt anyone reading this can crack the 10-second barrier in the 100m
sprint; so let’s learn to accept reality and move on.
But what has this to do with running a (retail) business?
When you run a business, you will receive a lot of advice; from
customers, staff and consultants. As a consultant I get to see how people process
‘advice’ all the time – and what I see as
the first reaction is how people get defensive.
No matter what the cold facts are, the first reaction is to
justify why things are what they are. And why it became that way. And why it is
too hard to change.
- When someone tells you that your service sucks, you
should believe them instead of telling them why they are wrong and what they
don’t understand about your business.
- When someone says you should invest in better
systems, maybe you should buy one instead of finding reasons why the current
one is good enough.
- When someone tells you that you are too
expensive, you could find a way to lower prices or change perceptions rather
than explaining that it is the supplier’s fault.
- When someone says you should change the way
something looks, you could change it rather than justifying why it has always
been done that way.
Does this mean that one should always accept advice in good
faith? Of course not:
In the first instance, when someone gives you unsolicited advice about something personal
and about what is possible and not possible – IGNORE it.
When someone gives you advice that is based on their experience
of an interaction with you and your business – EVALUATE it and assess it on its
merits. Be aware of the temptation to justify it and to rationalise it away.
Make a level-headed decision about whether there is any merit in the advice and
then act on it or discard as appropriate.
When a consultant or trainer gives you advice, IMPLEMENT it;
because presumably you are not stupid enough to employ a consultant who has no expertise
in that area.
Ask any alcoholic. Ask any divorcee. Ask any bankrupt: Acceptance
is the first step of a change in direction.
As long as the first step isn’t a knee-jerk reaction.
Have fun
Dennis
(More like this by clicking on my name above.)
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