Keep tuning that antenna

There’s no excuse not to keep your eye on the big picture now the internet is part of our lives.

Businesses are often started up because a technician decides to open a business. No doubt you have all read E-Myth Mastery by Michael Gerber. If not I strongly recommend that you do.

The treatise here is that just because you are good at something, it does not mean that you can necessarily turn it into, and/or run, a business.

One of the points of difference between a technician — someone who works in a specialist area — and the business owner is that the business owner needs skills across a wide range of activities, particularly around people and finance.

Over years of business coaching and through my own CEO and board roles, I have become very aware of the importance of the business owner having a wide perspective.

The point is to have your antenna out all the time.

The internet makes it so much easier to stay in tune. You turn it on and up comes the news you need every day to stay ahead. Being a member of trade and industry organisations makes sure you get a view on what consumers wans and how your industry is changing.

Keeping an eye on the big picture also means tracking the competition through the news and these competitors’ websites.

And you have to be disciplined about it so that at least half an hour a day you have to take your head out from what you are doing and look up. It keeps you fresh and keeps your creativity going. The last thing you want to be is blinkered and miss opportunities and strategic alliances.

It is very exhilarating being a leader — but it can also be very challenging. But, as they say, it’s more fun at the front!