The Industrial Age taught us to achieve goals in ways that reflected the system of mass inventory production. When we figured out how to create factories and industrialize production, we changed the way we lived and worked. In contrast, the Information Age radically changed modern lifestyle. Technology disrupted and re-invented some of the most important elements of our society – including how to grow your small business.
Here are 5 steps to transform your business growth:
1. Discover your personal mission.
A vision is about what you see as possible. A purpose is what you feel with your heart.
A mission is what you are doing that makes your vision and purpose happen. Your personal mission brings value and richness to your small business and helps in directing and focusing your activities on your main purpose – that being the reason you do what you do.
2. Develop a reputation built on your strengths.
What strengths do you use every day? What strengths are you particularly proud of that are not currently used in your business? How can you bring those strengths to your business? A strong reputation – one built on your unique strengths – is a differentiator that no other competitor can compete against.
3. Expand your perspective.
People have a tendency to think within the box that has been created by their experiences. When we’re interacting with someone who comes from a different box, our own perspective (our box) can limit our perception. The ability to see a situation from another’s perspective is a powerful way to add value to your business.
4. Learn by interacting.
A recent study of a hunter-gatherer society in New Guinea revealed that not one person living in that society suffered from depression. Researchers attributed this high degree of mental health to the fact that the society is marked by a high degree of social interaction, trust, and cooperation. Networking. You are your network. Make a list of those whom you would like to learn from – people who have skills and/or qualities that you admire – and connect with them.
5. Help others create value from what you provide.
Halloween is just around the corner – and I bet you’re wondering what that has to do with adding value. Remember as a kid, when you would come home with the huge stash of candy? Remember how you’d try and stick as much as you could into your mouth at one time?
Just as you can fill your mouth so full of food that it’s hard to chew and swallow, the same thing can happen with adding value. Help people get maximum value from what you’ve already provided rather than continue to add more.
Growing your small business in the age of technology is no longer about 1 + 1 = 2. Business growth today is based on personal learning and development that produces better performance and long term rewards. Think 
.
Related Blog Posts:
Is Ungrowth the New Growth Strategy for Business?
The Four Stages of Growing Your Business
Is it Time to Rethink Your Business Growth?
Uncover the Moments of Truth in Your Business With a Strategic Coach
