Entrepreneurs don't have to invent the next Google or Microsoft or Amazon. On XFM this week, we had a conversation on why business leaders need to be prepared to change or fail. We looked at disruptive thinking as a tool to arrive at innovative ideas in business and in life.
How can you develop ideas that will disrupt your industry? How can you be more effective than you’ve ever been? How can you take achievement to the next level? How do you develop skills to separate you from the competition?
Too often we get “stuck” in small-minded, inside-the-box thinking in business and in life.
If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you have always got.
The world, today, is changing fast!
As an entrepreneur, you need to be prepared to change fast or fail. You don't have to invent the next Google or Microsoft or Amazon. You simply need to engage in ways that make your idea stand out. You can do this by thinking in a counter-intuitive way as a means of arriving at an innovative idea.
But how can you build this capability? How can you harness the power of disruptive thinking? How can you invoke your inner disruptor? How can you embrace disruptive thinking? How can you foster the mindset of a disruptor?
Here are some ideas on how you can awaken your inner disruptor:
#1 Forget what other people think!
Doubt is a distraction. Striving to secure praise and avoiding blame is a recipe for disaster. It's not about being the first mover. Believe in the cause that you are championing.
#2 Challenge the status quo!
Don’t be afraid to question decisions that appear problematic. Going along to get along is ineffective and often compromises values.
Choose to color outside the lines.
#3 Get uncomfortable!
Get into the habit of raising your standards and expectations by challenging yourself to do more and better. Why be average when you can be extraordinary?
#4 Welcome failure!
Experience is your best teacher. What would be the point of going through life and never making any mistakes? There is tremendous value in embracing mistakes and applying the lessons learned.
#5 Be bold!
Take more chances. When you play it overly safe, you miss big opportunities. What’s the worst thing that can happen when you stick out your neck? You could become wildly successful!
#6 Travel!
Get out of your office. Attend a conference. Meet new people. Embrace a new hobby. Watch movies. Listen to music. Attend shows and productions. Then apply these new insights to your present realities.
#7 Serve!
Give your time to a cause. Offer help to those in need. Take time to volunteer. There must be more to our existence than meets the eye.
Give yourself an opportunity to win.
As you embrace your inner disruptor, don't forget to make it your continuous goal to fall in love with your client and not with your product or service. Why? Because your product or service is going to have to change many times over.
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