Why Growth Depends on Stopping as Much as Starting

Are you always on the lookout for the next big thing? Where’s that magic bean that will ignite your business growth? It could be in your hand already.

Before you start another big campaign or project hoping it will work, take a moment to explore what’s already in your storehouse.

What you stop doing in your business is as important as what you start.

Which programs has your company started in recent years that never bore fruit? How much time are you wasting time on tasks or activities that don’t improve the bottom line?

When you make your daily to-do list or conduct your quarterly planning sessions, stop and think about those items. What should you quit doing to free up more time, money, and energy for things that really do make a difference?

Most of my clients don’t have to look far to find wasted energy.

  • Do you produce reports that no one reads?
  • Are you running advertising programs that don’t generate qualified leads?
  • Do you hold daily or weekly staff meetings that are all chatter and no results?

If you answer “yes” to any of these, change the approach, or stop it all together. What other areas aren’t working for you any more?

Focusing on the wrong things – especially tasks and activities that you’ve been doing so long that no one can remember why they were started in the first place – is a huge drain on productivity, creativity and enthusiasm.

Try Reverse Brainstorming

To shake things up a bit, try this: gather your staff (or if you are a solopreneur, your advisors) for a different kind of brainstorming session. Instead of generating new ideas, make a list of projects or activities that should be stopped.

You might be surprised by what ends up on that list. Take a good hard look at those items and pick a few you can do without. You’ll find the process is remarkably liberating.

Not only will you have more time to get the really important stuff done, you’ll open up space fresh ideas. Use that newfound freedom to develop innovative approaches and creative strategies to accelerate growth.

Image by Robert Linder.

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