Flea experts tell us that a flea can jump about 8 inches. This natural capacity to jump about 180 times their body length is fairly amazing in and by itself. Now, put a population of those fleas that can jump 8 inches into a container that is 4 inches tall for 3 days. You can pull the lid off that container after 72 hours, and that population of fleas that can jump 8 inches will not leave the container! In just 3 days, they have been trained to only use half of their capacity because of their capped experience.
Is that what we are doing with our co-workers, friends, employees and ourselves when we become focused within our industries. Almost every industry has people with disruptive ideas investing efforts and dollars into that industry today because they see great opportunities in changing that industry. For those industry participants who have been successful the way it has been, those disruptive changes can threaten place holder status, perceived legacy, and directly affect earnings and balance sheets. This usually creates a resistance to the change.
For many industries, there is more investment with serious capital and intellectual capacity today than has been invested in a long time. Many of these investors have not grown up within that industry, and have ideas that will change how that industry does business in the future. That equates to fantastic opportunity if we choose to use it. It can be exciting and energizing.
But it’s easier to hang out with our friends and colleagues that think and work like us and complain about how our industries are going into the dumper. If all your friends and professional associates are in your same industry, look like you, think like you, and act like you, you have a problem. It’s like staring at your belly button; not very productive. While there is uncertainty and risk with change, the higher risk is usually not changing while the world around us does.
If you’re looking at adapting with new innovation, hang out with people that aren’t like you. Learn what the rest of the world is wanting from your industry. Expand your perspective and uncap your natural potential to see how high you can jump.
It’s a great time to capture the value of your ideas by buying an existing business within your industry and applying your own disruptive changes to make that business / industry better. Conversely, if the above comments seem scary, too tiring, or just plain makes you mad, perhaps it’s time to consider turning over the reins to a buyer with more energy. Whichever group you are in, call us. We would love to hear your story and help you capture your value for both buyer and seller.