What Opportunities Are We Missing Because We’ve Stopped Listening?
Written by: Nathan Turner, M.Eng.
The longer we are in business, the easier it becomes to believe we know what deserves our attention.
We know which calls to answer.
Which emails to open.
Which ideas are worth considering.
Which people deserve five minutes of our time.
And which ones don’t.
Experience gives us that ability. In many ways, it has to. Nobody running a business can chase every idea, answer every solicitation, or spend half the day listening to sales pitches.
But there is another side to that experience.
Sometimes we become so good at filtering out the noise that we accidentally filter out the opportunity.
I’ve been thinking about that lately.
Business owners, executives, managers, and entrepreneurs are constantly approached by people who want something. Someone wants to sell us a service. Someone has an idea. Someone thinks they can improve something we’re doing. Someone wants five minutes on the phone.
After enough years of it, the natural response becomes:
No thanks. We’re good.
And most of the time, maybe we are.
But what about the one time we aren’t?
What happens when the person on the other end actually noticed something we missed?
What if an employee has an idea that never reaches the decision-maker?
What if a vendor sees an inefficiency because they are looking at the business from the outside?
What if that cold call you almost didn’t answer came from somebody who had genuinely done their homework?
You certainly shouldn’t buy everything you’re offered. And being open-minded doesn’t mean being gullible.
Listen First. Evaluate Second. Decide Third.
Those are very different things.
A five-minute conversation doesn’t obligate you to anything.
Neither does hearing an employee out.
Neither does considering an idea that challenges the way you’ve always done something.
Neither does admitting that someone outside your organization might see something you don’t.
Some of the most expensive words in business might be:
“We already know that.”
Because sometimes we don’t.
The marketplace changes. Technology changes. Customers change. Competitors change. The way people discover businesses changes.
And sometimes the person who brings that change to our attention isn’t the person we expected to hear it from.
I’ve spent a lot of years in business, and one thing I still believe strongly is that you should be able to learn something new every day.
But there’s a requirement attached to that.
You have to keep listening.
You have to remain curious.
And occasionally, you have to give somebody five minutes who hasn’t yet earned a place on your calendar.
You can always say no afterward.
But at least you’ll know what you’re saying no to.
Opportunity Doesn’t Always Knock Wearing a Suit and Carrying an Appointment
Sometimes it calls when you’re busy.
Sometimes it comes from an employee.
Sometimes it arrives in an email you almost deleted.
Sometimes it comes from a small business you’ve never heard of.
And sometimes it comes from somebody sitting in a garage with an idea.
Keep your filters.
Just don’t make them so good that nothing new can get through.
Be found. Be understood. Be trusted. Be chosen.
Frogg Dogg Promotions LLC
Office - 512-572-4037
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