Cause of Death – FEAR

Cause of Death – FEAR

Look for companies who are “stuck” and they are really easy to find today. Check out the stock market and pick out companies with dramatic decreases in value. Is it all because of the economy? Absolutely not. Many of these companies are just plain stuck in fear. They may tell you it is something else but I’ll bet you my last dollar it isn’t!

These companies continue to do business the way they have for the past 10 years ignoring the gargantuan changes in our society. Their products are stale, lack innovation and, as Seth Godin would say, “unremarkable”. Their salespeople are focused on product rather than on customer, their television commercials are still “one size fits all” and their media buys are A25-54 or, for the more advanced, W1849. Can you get more impersonal, homogenized or “unremarkable” than that?! The masses are not going to save your company – they will keep you stuck.

FACT:  Most companies are scared to death of the innovators and early adaptors. They will say they aren’t. In fact, many will internally and some will even externally ask for ideas and feedback. Then what happens? They are “fully vetted” and defeated after being beaten with a stick in committees full of scared non-risk takers worried about today’s stock values rather than the future.  

As Dr. Phil would say, “So how’s that working for you?” Check those stock values and the chatter on the street!

Why is making a decision to change so scary?

Harvey Mackay recently wrote “Sigmund Freud was once asked why it is so difficult for some people to make decisions. He shocked people when he said he asks them to toss a coin. He went on to explain:  I did not say you should follow blindly what the coin tells you. What I want you to do is to note what the coin indicates. Then look into your own reactions. Ask yourself: Am I pleased? Am I disappointed? That will help you to recognize how you really feel about the matter, deep down inside. With that as a basis, you’ll then be ready to make up your mind and come to the right decision.”

Psychologist Joyce Brothers advises, “Trust your hunches…they are usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.” 

My simple version of that is “trust your gut.”

When you’re on the floor you can’t fall very far. There has never been a better time to take a risk. And how risky is it to ask your customers what they want and provide it for them? How risky is it to shut up and listen? How risky is it to actually court, embrace, and even coddle your future – the innovators and adaptors?

And that leads me to YOU. What are YOU doing to get you and your company “unstuck”? Are you terminally stuck in fear?

Trust your gut, flip a coin, take a risk, do something. Speak up loudly and often. Scream if you must! Don’t be afraid. Don’t be part of the unremarkable stuck. In the end, we are all depending on YOU!  

I would love to hear what you have to scream– please comment!