TFC#14: The Perks of Being Open-Minded

My wife and I are traveling through Europe for 2 weeks. We rented a car in Germany and I drove throughout Germany, France, and now Switzerland.

At first, I wasn’t sure how it would go to drive in Europe. Would it be too difficult to adjust to the language and different road signs? Would I know how their system works?

I decided to jump in and give it a shot.

It didn’t take long to discover that it wasn’t all that bad.

You all know the frustrations of following a slow driver in the fast lane on an interstate. It’s so easy to get jammed up behind slow cars in America.

In Germany, I quickly realized, these guys took the “stay right unless you’re passing” very seriously. It was like there was a giant magnet on the right side of the road that pulled everybody over.

It made it so easy to drive. You simply stayed as far right ass you could and passed if you needed to. Such a simple thing right?

Another thing I really enjoyed in Germany was when they dropped the speed limit and it was just open range.

We drove 150-170k/hour most of the time on the autobahns.

Something that seemed so foreign and new to me a week ago turned out to be a very refreshing and rewarding experience.

All I had to do was try it.

What is it for you?

Is there something you are thinking of trying but aren’t to sure how it might work for your shop?

Are you contemplating a more modern approach?

Maybe a more craftsman approach?

Or switching your customer model?

Redoing your pricing structure?

There is obviously a danger in always chasing the shiny objects, however, for most of us, it’s the fear of trying something new that holds us back rather than the issue of always trying something new.

It’s easy to see the businesses around us that are successful. We see them adding on to their shops, buying new CNCs, hiring more employees.

I believe being open-minded is a key ingredient to a successful business.

Here are five benefits to being open-minded in business.

Increased creativity and innovation

Open-mindedness allows you to consider a wide range of perspectives and ideas, enabling you to be more creative in your business approach. Being receptive to new and innovative ideas from different sources can help you come up with unique solutions and fresh approaches to problem-solving.

Improved decision making

When you're open-minded, you're more likely to consider all available options and weigh the pros and cons of each. You'll be able to make informed decisions based on a broader range of information, rather than just your own narrow perspective.

Better communication

Open-mindedness helps you communicate more effectively with others. You'll be able to understand their viewpoints and express your own more clearly, leading to better collaboration and teamwork.

Increased adaptability

In today's fast-paced business world, being adaptable is critical. An open-minded approach allows you to adjust quickly to changes and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.

Greater resilience

Open-mindedness helps you stay positive and optimistic, even in the face of setbacks and challenges. By remaining receptive to new ideas and feedback, you'll be able to learn from your mistakes and keep moving forward.

Conclusion

The important thing to recognize is that innovation is not the same for every shop. Otherwise, the only option would be to buy more CNC machines and build automated frameless cabinets.

No, there is much more to it than that. Each shop has the opportunity to find their unique flavor they bring to the market. The shops that do well are the ones who are open minded and always looking for ways they can better serve their customers.

The shops that don’t do as well, will complain about the modern trends, and how everyone is pricing too low, and find all kinds of excuses to use.

Not every idea you will have is going to be a game-changer for you. But if you don’t have the courage to try the ideas you do have, how will you know when you have a good idea?

So whether you want to be a fully automated shop, or a quality craftsman, or anything in between, start taking action on the ideas you have for your business.

Take a moment today and think of the ideas you had over the last several years that you wish you would have capitalized on.

Baby steps make a huge difference.

Thanks for reading,

Myron