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5 things you do that could be hindering your personal success

Posted by Shivali Anand

January 18, 2022 | 4-minute read (634 words)

Young troubled woman looking at laptop screen

Check your blind spots: If you're disappointed with the pace at which your startup or established firm is developing, you could be stuck in one of these five habits that are limiting your personal success.

1. Not having a strategy.

You've undoubtedly heard Benjamin Franklin's famous saying, "If you don't plan, you plan to fail!" This is particularly true for company owners and entrepreneurs.

Successful business professionals have established the habit of understanding their customers' problems, devising a solution, selling the answer through crystal-clear marketing tactics and scaling their firm as a consequence.

Consider the largest and most successful corporations you are familiar with: They create reliable technology, shoes for every sport, quick delivery of exactly what you want and environmentally friendly automobiles. Their strategic plan is defined by this basic concept of problem > solution > marketing > growth. They also don't make judgments that don’t align with the company's overall strategy.

2. Making your business too complicated.

Many entrepreneurs and company executives make mistakes in this area. They find it challenging to define their ideal client or consumer category. They cannot adequately describe the problem they are attempting to solve and how their product or service solves it more effectively than competitors.

Simplify your business so that potential clients easily grasp how you intend to assist them. When people understand your company's goal, they are more inclined to buy into it.

3. Ignoring your own needs.

You are an essential member of your team. If you resign as a business owner or entrepreneur, your company will cease to exist. Yet, despite this, many business owners allow themselves to become depleted, tired, overleveraged, overworked and ultimately burned out. It's extremely easy for servant leaders, who focus on serving their employees rather than the staff serving the owner, to overlook their own needs in the process of caring for others.

Successful entrepreneurs and company owners recognize that maintaining a good business and team dynamic requires prioritizing self-care. When you are well-rested and shielded from high-stress situations, you make better decisions and maintain stronger relationships.

4. Spending an excessive amount of time learning.

Yes, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Even when it comes to studying and research, this is true. According to the expert myth, people believe they need to be experts or contact experts before making big decisions. However, even experts make errors, so putting too much faith in their advice might put your company at risk.

Similarly, company owners and entrepreneurs who spend too much time studying and evaluating their product, market or structure may lose out on essential opportunities to act right away and learn as they go. It's easy to believe that to have an impact in an area, you need to be an expert in that subject, but the fact is that individuals who think differently and bring in a fresh viewpoint are often the ones that stand out the most.

5. Taking a risk-avoidance approach to decision-making.

The agony of losing money, an opportunity, market shares or a valuable employee outweighs the delight of similar great success. We are all loss averse, which means that a loss makes us feel worse than the same degree of achievement.

This effect can create a risk-averse mindset among entrepreneurs and business owners, limiting their decision-making ability. Taking business risks can be intimidating when a lot is at stake. However, no leader succeeds without taking measured risks in the interest of innovation and progress. Risks are strategic, well-researched and have a high potential payoff, instead of unnecessary risks or spur-of-the-moment.

Takeaway:

Change isn't something that happens overnight. However, if you think about the suggestions above, you might just identify several places in your leadership style where a minor adjustment might lead to your next significant breakthrough.

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Ideation

5 things you do that could be hindering your personal success

1. Not having a strategy.

2. Making your business too complicated.

3. Ignoring your own needs.

4. Spending an excessive amount of time learning.

5. Taking a risk-avoidance approach to decision-making.

Takeaway:

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