What Could You Achieve If You Took Money Out Of The Equation?

If you took money out of the equation what could you achieve in your business?

It’s an interesting question and one that is rarely posed. Ask most people in business why they are in business and they’ll likely reply, “to make money”. It is possible they will give a more considered answer and say something like, “to make money by delivering value to customers.” They may also extend this by saying, “to make money be delivering value to customers through exceptional products and services that positively impact the environment and society.”

How much better does the latter sound?

Then what often happens is that they return to the coal face of production and operations and go back to focusing on money.

It’s almost impossible to ignore, in the current economic and political climate. The pressure on business leaders, owners and decision makers to make money at all costs, is so strong. We have never before had such challenging and noisy times. We live in commercial times of uncertainty with Brexit, longer term economic cycles which warn of impending downturn and as we know, frantically busy market places with deafening noise and chatter of digital communications.

Is it any wonder that business decision makers spend the vast majority of their time focusing on the elusive dollars, pounds and euros that keep their businesses afloat at worst and steadily growing at best.

But this is merely short term commercial practice, for survival. Businesses who continue to thrive and grow, despite market fluctuations and uncertainties, are those who practice patience at a macro level. They plan, they strategise, and importantly, they pause and take pure financials out of the equation to ensure they can innovate without the constraints of micro level day to day operations.

Benefits of planning with money out of the equation:
– allows focus on establishing and clarifying higher purpose without limiting boundaries
– ensures appropriate people are involved, developed, recruited and retained
– explores new and exciting process and systems opportunities beyond those currently known
– challenges the existing paradigms of capabilities and competencies
– allows a longer term, strategic view, beyond the currently visible horizon
– inspires new product and service innovation outside of current capabilities
– examines much broader opportunities for serving new markets and customers
– may identify innovative efficiency savings across the business

Taking money from the equation, albeit for short term bursts of strategic planning ensures you can explore ideals, without the constraints of day to day thinking.

Not only is this approach sensible if you need to innovate within your industry to establish or sustain competitive advantage, but it can inspire, bond and invigorate your people and those around you.

When will you plan some time to explore what you could achieve if you took money out of the equation? Who will you involve and what over-arching question will you pose? Be audacious and unleash your potential…