Did you watch Alex Polizzi’s The Fixer, the other night, helping out a local business owner of an indoor play centre, which had gone from a thriving business to one that was struggling to retain customers and cover the monthly bills?
What I found really interesting was that even though the owner had asked for Alex’s help as a business guru, he was so resistant to taking any of her advice or making any changes. Anything that was suggested was rejected because either he’d “tried it before and it didn’t work then, so why should it now” or it wasn’t his idea so he couldn’t bring himself to try it. Albert Einstein’s definition of ‘insanity’ as “Continuing to do the same thing over and over again yet expecting a different outcome” sprung to mind!
Pride and ego
This was a classic example of how we can allow our pride or ego to become obstacles or blocks to our success, rather than using them as the strengths they can be! The good news was that the businessman did eventually change his ways of thinking and implemented a large number of the suggestions that Alex and an advisor made, however this wasn’t until he and his wife/business partner had been taken into the skeleton of a former Blockbusters store and shown just what can happen if you don’t adapt to changes in your market or consumer demand. You could see on their faces and in their body language just how much this shook them to the core and even though it appears that their business thankfully is back on the way up again, wouldn’t it have been easier and a lot less stressful if he’d really looked and listened to what his customers were saying – and at his competitors to see what they were doing differently and successfully?
So, my one piece of advice today would don’t lose your mind or your business; keep your eye on the ball, listen to what your customers want…and be willing to adapt!
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