I've just returned from a conference in New Zealand, where I was asked to speak on the topic of Re-birthing your business. Easter is an opportune time to turn your mind to how you might re-birth your own business. It's not just because of the obvious symbolic associations with re-birth at Easter, but also because for many of us, it's an enforced extended time off, a chance to take up to a week out of our normal routine with perhaps some time spent with family, friends or just ourselves.
Business strategy is often framed as something strictly rational and planned. However, imagining alternative futures is a creative process that may not come together in a strictly rational way. Instead, to imagine creative possibilities, we need to allow our minds to work holistically, we need to let the different parts of our brains connect in surprising ways.
Generating this type of creativity means taking a step back and perhaps focusing on something else altogether. It's when we're out for a walk, in the bath, or in that hazy time between waking and sleeping that the best ideas can happen. In business we sometimes try to force a rational approach to making critical decisions, when instead a better approach may be to take some deliberate time out.
I have a young nephew and when he was about three he was out in the backyard with his dad one night, admiring the magnificent full moon.
"Daddy, let's fly to the moon!"he exclaimed.
His Dad chuckled to himself and said, in a very sensible, adult tone, "We can't fly to the moon, because we don't have a rocket ship."
"That's no problem, Daddy, " my nephew replied. "We'll go to the shop and buy a rocket ship, and then we can fly to the moon!"
It's hard to escape the enthusiasm of a child who sees everything as possible, and nothing as impossible. As adults we limit our thinking by imposing barriers on ourselves as part of what we believe to be sensible behaviour.
The challenge of a re-birth is to re-think your situation through the eyes of a child, to consider what might be possible if you weren't a sensible, rational-seeming adult. How might you do things differently if anything truly was possible?
Enjoy your Easter break and when you return to work, take a fresh approach to the way you look at things and imagine the possibilities.
3 comments:
Last month, I moved my flower shop from a main street location,where I have been for 14 yrs to a 'studio' one. I had Plans B (sharing a shop with a fellow florist) & C (working from home), but lacked Plan A. I remembered that I had once wanted to share a space with other 'creatives', decided to follow up my dream, and within 24hrs had found a perfect location, sharing a refurbished factory with architects !
I'm now going though the exciting phase of rebirthing, & wondering what new and innovative ideas I can try, now that I am not tied to a strictly retail format. Any ideas ??
Wow! This sounds like an exciting change. Have you thought about how you could collaborate with the architects you are now sharing with? Could you contribute your creative floristry skills to their projects in some way - perhaps in terms of interior design?
Yes, it is exciting, but daunting nontheless! The first 2 weeks were great, then the school holidays /Easter hit, and it has gone all quiet ! I don't have a history to look back on now, so just take each day as it comes.
One of the main reasons for moving was that the rent here is incredibly cheap, so I don't have to worry on that account, but I now have to work out what my new scheme is...what AM I trying to achieve ! Shorter hours and more money for me are definitely on the list.
I hope that there will be some creative collaboration with the architects - that's what I had in mind. I like change, but I haven't had the opportunity to do so for some time - hence my interest in your article.
Post a Comment