I heard a quote this weekend…
“The grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence. It’s greener where you water it.”
I see so many businesses that face a set-back or competitive challenge or look at what another business is doing and they immediately start throwing time, attention and resources into a new venture or product or direction.
Instead of getting a nice dividend. They often end up losing two opportunities.
The opportunity to grow their existing situation — and the opportunity to reap a harvest with the new one.
Here’s why…
Without fail, a new major direction means a new learning curve. This is always discounted. Looking over the fence, it appears relatively easy to harvest the new opportunity. But, once they are over the fence they find themselves knee deep in weeds and “stuff” they couldn’t see from a distance. Now they are committing the classical strategic error – fighting a war on two fronts. With their attention now divided, both fields turn brown.
I’m amazed at the power that re-focusing on the core can have on a businesses prospects for growth. You can’t do and think the same things you’ve been doing and thinking. But you don’t have to go off and jump the fence into the competitor’s pasture either. Take some time and examine your business with a new set of perspectives.
Look at other industries and ask if their sales and marketing methods might not work in your own pasture.
You’ll be pleased with the new growth that a little fertilizer and water can bring to your enterprise.
