Growing your business involves doing something different. Taking a new path, even if that is not absolutely clear. Any new activity can naturally lead to fear and maybe reluctance. Even if you are just using a new approach or taking an action with deeper understanding this may be the first time you have done it. As with anything in business your results are not guaranteed! So there is always risk.
If you are being moved out of your comfort zone you probably can’t completely fight any nerves, tension or uncertainty. This is a perfectly normal human response. Deep down we have not evolved very far from when it was dangerous and scary to move away from the tribe and the fire and head off into the unknown. The modern sabre tooth tigers may be waiting!
The new steps can be reduced as much as possible
- When you have a new activity to do the best plan is to include as many “tried and tested” elements as possible. for example, don’t give a talk on a new subject with new software to a new audience. Build up your confidence by being familiar with the content – even practising it on your own will help, or better still get a few supportive people to give you feedback. Learn about any potential problems with the software. If it can go wrong it won’t matter too much but be prepared. If it is a totally new audience find out as much as possible about them and what is going on in their world. The most important quality you want to have is a feeling of resilience,
- Be accountable to someone else – we are often less likely to let someone else down
- Give yourself more time than you would normally need to prepare when going outside your comfort zone
- Forgive yourself if you make mistakes.
- Get support and be in a supportive environment where you feel free to make mistakes. Learn as much as you can from people who have expertise, as well as from those one step ahead and of course there is a lot of information all over the internet if you need it.
- Muscle memory will help but your muscles will have to have the first experiences to make memories from.
- Most importantly view what you are doing with the eyes of curiosity. You have to try things and look at the results and then tweak in line with what you find.
Growing is the option – not staying still
Customers arrive and leave, there is a natural life cycle and the world changes. Even if your core message remains the same people may be listening in new ways with a different nuance. You need to remain relevant. So it is almost a given that you will be doing new things
I gave a talk yesterday about a new subject – ChatGPT – and kept the audience small and well known to me. I had given myself enough preparation time and not too much. Have you ever had a far off deadline but somehow – despite your best intentions – ended up doing the work in a rush at the end? I have! Urgency is a great benefit for us as well as when encouraging others to take decisions.The information had to be organised with my voice which took a deeper level of thought than you might expect. A few well-chosen supportive people knew so I could follow up afterwards.
Before the new workshop – a poetic take
Before the new workshop
Far too long
Longer than normal
Spent working it
Worrying it
Top to bottom
Upside down downside up
This way and that
Logical, emotional
Visually pleasing.
During the workshop
Forget simple tech strokes
Calm through the presentation
Enlivened through the interactions,
Amazement, thanks.
After the workshop
Breathe, move
Go outside away
From the screen.
Time to decompress.
What’s next?
Jean Wolfe © 2023
Once you have outwitted those tigers your confidence soars, and you are more confident about rising to other new challenges. The big question is “What’s next to grow my business/” Keep those tigers away.