One of the dangers for business owners and decision makers is to focus so much on how things are that they fail to see new and different possibilities for the business. It’s important that you learn how to get a different perspective on business decisions to prevent your business from losing its competitive advantage.
If you really want to figure out how to get a different perspective on business decisions, you may need to look elsewhere for inspiration. That means you will have to get out of the decision-making circle. Those “outsiders” may be able to spot things you miss because you’re too close to the situation.
ask a consultant
If you’re willing to invest a bit of money to get an outside perspective, you may want to consider hiring a consultant to advise you. Having someone who is not influenced by a relationship with you or your company, you may get some new advice.
A good consultant will know your industry and will typically be more up to date with changes and trends within the industry. They will be able to build on what other companies are doing to give you a different perspective.
ask your customers
One source of information that may be overlooked is your existing customer base. It’s a good idea to go to them from time to time and ask them not only how you are currently doing, but also what changes they would like to see. You may have been meeting your needs up to now, but changes in the business environment affect them too. You need to make sure that you can continue to meet their needs in the future. That happens by talking to them so you can anticipate any changes.
ask your employees
While your employees may not be able to give you much help in running your business, you can bet they do have opinions about how your business operates on a day-to-day basis. They are in the trenches for you and have a pretty good idea of what is working and what is not working well in your operation.
You will need to create a forum where your employees can safely voice their opinions and make suggestions. This doesn’t mean you should act on everything you hear, but by listening to your workers, you’ll certainly gain a different perspective on what’s going on in your operation.
ask your network
Another place to get new ideas is to look outside your industry for inspiration. Talk to your network of friends and associates to find out what they are doing in their businesses. While the ideas may not apply to you directly, they may trigger a thought about how you can translate what they’re doing into your business.
Learning to gain a different perspective on business decisions requires you to look at your business from a different angle than you have in the past. By looking at your business through the eyes of those outside the decision-making circle, you’ll be able to see and learn things about your company that you may have missed in the past. It’s a great way to stay one step ahead of your competition.