During the last eight weeks of lockdown, I’ve noticed a fantastic trend amongst my business clients, broader contacts and the people I’ve met through lots of Zoom networking.
Collaboration
The situation that has been forced upon us has led to almost everyone conducting things a bit differently in business. As we all try to work out what the new normal will end up being, we have all pulled together, shared successes (and failures) and bounced ideas off each other.
We have all collaborated far more than before the Corona virus.
So many different businesses and brands have offered free resources, webinars and time, to help people survive their personal lockdown, help small businesses think up new ways they can adapt and change, help us all endure (and thrive). To be honest, it’s been so refreshing, not having to be constantly on your guard for the sales pitch – or having to deliver it! Yes of course, we all want our own businesses to grow and I’m in the business of providing advice, helping less experienced business owners to thrive and grow and avoid the many mistakes, that I have made or seen in my career. Let’s face it, we can all learn from failure, but we don’t have to fail ourselves to learn from the experience. As a consultant you get used to parcelling out your knowledge in bite size chunks, which are just enough to demonstrate competence, value and experience, but not too much to reduce the likelihood of a new contract. Now there is so much free advice out there, with no firm expectation of reward, other than sharing and helping others survive. How will this all change as the lockdown eases? Will we go back to the old normal? I hope not. I was on a call yesterday, with a group of prospective business coaches and mentors, listening to an experienced coach talk about his experience of running a business peer group. One thing that struck me was when he talked about “not allowing any twits” in his group and that one of the key personality traits he insists on, for membership, was humbleness. This sort of peer group will only be successful if there is a common attitude of collaboration, sharing and a willingness to learn. I’m sure we have all met the type of character in business, who thinks they know it all and will try to trump your experience with one of theirs.
Standing up amongst your peers to air your issues and dilemmas takes a certain type of person. They can admit that they don’t know it all and would benefit from some discussion, collaboration and advice.
If you look into learning theory, it is clear that collaboration, shared experiences, discussion, and gathering non-judgemental opinions, are all critical for a successful learning experience. It’s no different in business.
I’ve always believed in delivering value, sharing and helping, even if you can’t gain an immediate reward, the concept of
‘Pay it Forward’
If you are unfamiliar with this concept, it is where you respond to a person’s kindness to you by being kind to other people in the future. Try giving random acts of kindness in your day and see what happens. For example, in my early career, I worked in bookstores and consciously went against the company policy to recommend other bookshops, if we couldn’t supply a particular book a customer was searching for. I knew from the research that heavy book buyers are promiscuous, they want the book and that is more important to them, than where they buy it from. However, they usually do have a preferred source to visit first.
Focussing on good service I believed was the right thing to do, helping to solve the customer’s immediate need, without trying to make a sale.
Of course, a bonus of this approach, might mean the customer would remember us and we would hopefully become their preferred bookstore. When you start your own business or take on a leadership role in a larger business, nobody can be prepared for every situation. Recognising that we are all on a constant learning journey is an important factor in business success. With Covid-19, we have all been forced to quickly adapt to an unprecedented situation. How you cope with change can be the difference between success and failure. The worst thing you can do, is to do nothing.
I have often said to my children that the most permanent thing in life is change. You either resist it, or go with the flow and try to make the change work for you.
Post the pandemic, I hope that many more people will have experienced, first-hand, the benefit of seeking expert advice in business and consider how they can tap into it going forward. It will be interesting to see how much free advice and discussion groups are maintained as the world returns to some sense of normality. For my part, I will continue to collaborate and contribute in the various networking groups I am part of. If you think I might be able to help you or your company, I offer a free 30-minute call to discuss, your challenges and how we might collaborate and benefit your business.
If I think I can help you, I will tell you how, why and we can take it from there.
Please get in touch via phone, email, or connect on LinkedIn. Dave Mutton, May 2020
