By Dawna Jones
Making money in business isn’t what it used to be. Exponential entrepreneurs move an idea from startup to billion-dollar company in short order. Business models are easily rendered irrelevant. Why are so many companies sticking to routine business making decisions as if nothing has changed, as if complexity has no impact? What do upstart startups, select mid-sized companies and agile business units of large companies see others don’t?
Is Profit the Result or the Means for our Business to Achieve Bigger Goals?
On every executive decision maker’s list of priorities you will find three priorities: increase revenue, mitigate risk and cut costs. Yet, hidden decision-making habits sabotage achievement of those same goals.
That is exactly what is happening when decisions are based on one glaring and flawed assumption: profit is the purpose of a business. A narrow focus is too narrow a frame in the context of complexity, where relevant data exists beyond view. Companies restrict and limit growth, leaving employees disengaged, but busy. Without a wider lens to see the big picture, the default is to solving problems and putting fires out. Instead, converting problems into business opportunities inspires engagement.
Assumptions are beliefs, sometimes rigidly held, assumed to be true but they might not be. While useful to compensate for insufficient information, left unexplored or unnoticed, assumptions increase risk and obscure clarity. In the traditional way of thinking, profit is the result of a company’s endeavour. In the contemporary mind, profit is the support a company needs to achieve something bigger. Fulfill a vision. Contribute something significant to the world.
If making grand assumptions is one risky routine habit, what else sabotages profitability?
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About the Author: Dawna Jones sees the underlying forces impacting what you see on the surface. She works with leaders and decision-makers to update skills and expand access to their wider intelligence. Working with individuals, teams, companies or at a global level gives Dawna insights into scaling mindset, innovation and transformation through leadership and decision-making. Contact Dawna on her website or follow her on Twitter.