It sure is great to converse with people who are “soul mates” or who are on the same page! When it comes to business issues, we can get pretty excited nodding our heads and patting ourselves on the back. But, I also need to hear from people who have different ideas and who may be coming at things from a very different perspective. It helps me to sharpen my own business skills and decision-making techniques, but it also helps me to expand my viewpoint and grow overall as a business person.
We can learn a great deal from those people who think very differently from us–we can learn how the “other side” thinks, but we can also get some inspiration to look at our problems and our business operations from a different standpoint. I find that I also often get an even clearer vision and understanding of why I am doing things the way I am by hearing from someone who is doing things so differently. It helps me to sharpen my standpoint and become very clear in all the “whys” and motivations that are driving me.
I think that we home business owners can get somewhat isolated–we don’t have the built-in disagreements and various belief systems and ideas that come with working a more traditional job with several coworkers. It can be tempting to just surround ourselves with other people with whom we can identify with and with whom we agree. But a little disagreement and differing opinions can be fuel for our businesses and can spur us on to do an even better job building our businesses. We need obstacles and challenges to keep from getting too complacent. Besides, you never know when you’re going to hear about something or hear from someone whose ideas you might actually adopt!
Also: Learning to be a Decision-Maker in Your Business
Do You Ever Wish You Could Start Over?