Companies and organizations interact within a world where there are new ideas, new developments, and a constantly changing scenery. The way one interacts with these new things can say a lot about your philosophy toward business, your message, and your beliefs. This became extremely evident as I was reading through “Tribes” by Seth Godin. In fact, I literally put down the book to journal my thoughts. It was that important!
Godin lays out three ways to interact with things coming at your business or organization and they are very telling in terms of the perspective you have in the world. His first question is, “are you a reactor”? Do you make knee-jerk actions as a direct correlation to the stimuli? “Reacting is intuitive and instinctive and usually dangerous.” Often reactions don’t involve deep thought and analysis. Not entirely bad, but not the best.
You must be thinking that this is crazy…”what other choice is there but to react?” Another option is to respond when thrown something new. Respond: what a calming word! Responding involves thoughtful action. This word invokes a kind of wisdom to the world around you that considers all implications before taking action. Responding is not always what happens in relationships, business transactions, or even conversation. But how beautiful when it does show up!
Of course responding is a great thing. Sometimes you have no choice. It is inevitable that we will encounter changes and stimuli that force a response. But even better is initiative. Ahhh! Initiating change. What a concept! This takes the defensive tactics out of the picture and puts you in the leadership role. This takes proactive thought and foresight to consider trends in the world, your industry, marketing, and your planning.
So the question is, how are you initiating and forging the way in your specialty? Do you simply wait to see what the trends are in your industry, or are you starting new trends. Keep an eye out for what other industries are doing that might indicate where you industry could be going. For example, in today’s culture, you may say “my practice or business doesn’t need a mobile app.” That tune may change in a couple years when every private practice doctor has not only a killer website, engaging identity on social media, but also is everywhere that people are: with their mobile device. While technology and marketing trends are always changing, it can seem daunting. There is something to be said for forward thinking and keeping your business propelling toward growth. Let’s go out and initiate that growth!