5 Thinking Strategies for Business Owners
Maybe you’re sick of the people on your team. They have a negative attitude, their performance is lagging and their communication is poor. They don’t finish their projects fast enough. They can’t seem to grasp exactly what you expect of them.
Maybe you’re in the middle of some financial issues. Your expenses are too high and your revenues are too low. You’re struggling to find investors. Your potential clients don’t see the value of your services and your existing clients don’t always pay on time.
Or maybe you’re at a loss for what to do strategy-wise. You don’t know how to reach your ideal clients, and with so many moving pieces, you feel frustrated and tired.
Regardless of what issues are plaguing you, your business is getting you down. So how do you step back into the role of a powerful leader?
Try leveraging these 5 thinking strategies:
1 – Trade Up
Come up with at least one thought that will help you feel slightly better about your current situation. If your profit margins aren’t where you’d like them to be, remind yourself that it’s possible to find ways to cut back on your expenses and to access new clients in places you haven’t tapped into yet. While this doesn’t drastically change your situation immediately, it sets you on a path towards a solution rather than focusing on the problem.
2 – Redirect
Turn your attention to something completely different. If you’re in a meeting with your team and they’re getting on your nerves, excuse yourself for a moment. Have a quick walk around the office, call your spouse or go to the bathroom. Taking a break will allow you to regain your composure, have some perspective and come back to the table feeling refreshed.
3 – Gratitude
Take a moment to think about all that is going right in your world. Just because one thing isn’t going your way doesn’t mean that there aren’t hundreds of things that are going exactly right! What have been some of your recent successes, no matter how small? What might you have been taking for granted, like having a warm shower every morning?
4 – Pivot
If you feel like you’re heading the wrong way, or if you’re feeling frustrated or unhappy, ask yourself, “What do I want instead?” Pivot toward what you want instead of continuing on a path that will lead you nowhere good.
5 – Contrast
When you experience something you don’t want, that automatically increases your clarity about what you’d rather have. If someone is late to a meeting, instead of focusing on the fact that they were late, leverage that experience to communicate that what you really want is for people to arrive on time. Once you focus on what you’d rather have, you’re able to create what you’re looking for.