Travel Outside Your Business

ByRobertHargrove

From Tunnel Vision to Funnel Vision

Howtohelpyourcoachingclientsovercomesmallnessofvision,operationalorthodoxies,andmarketingmyopia.

Traveling outside your business broadens your mindset and allows you to  borrow ideas from other industries that have the impact of an earthquake 

Jonti,aparticipantfromSouthAfricainourMCCerti icationWebinar,wenttotalktoa

topexecutiveatabigbankabouthisImpossibleFuturethatwastobethebasisoftheircoach-ingrelationship.AtthewebinarsessionJontireportedbackthathisclientwashavingahardtimethinkingoutsidetheboxandasked,“Whatwouldyoudointhiscase?" “Jonti,”Isaid,“whenthishappens,it’sasignthatthepersonmostlikelyhasanadvanced

caseofTUNNELVISION.”Ihavefoundthatthisisusuallytheresultofsomeonespending10,20,oreven30yearsinonecompanyoroneindustry,whichthenleadstosettinggoalsthatlackimagination,andmakingplansthatfallwithinthescopeofindustryorthodoxy.(Agoodexampleisanewspapertryingto igureouthowtoincreaseclassi iedadsbyraisingorloweringprices,whileCraigslististotallychangingthegamethroughitsfreeinternetclassi iedsite.) ItoldJontithatinordertohelphisclientcomeupwithanimaginativeImpossible

Futurethatcomesfromwayoutside-of-the-boxthinking,youhavetomovethemfromTUNNELVISIONtoFUNNELVISION.IexplainedtoJontiandtherestofthegroupthatoneofthebestwaystodothatwastogetyourclientto“traveloutsidetheirbusiness/industry”soastoopentheirmindstonewvisions,newstrategiesforreachingthem,andnewparadigm-smashinginformation.ThegroupaskedmeforanexplanationandIwashappytooblige.

Tunnel Vision to Funnel Vision? 

Thechancesare,ifyourclientgrewupinoneindustry,theysufferfromtunnelvision,

seeingonlyonewayofreachinggoals,onewayofsolvingproblems,onewayof

earningopportunities.Coachingclientstomovingfromtunnelvisiontofunnel

visionvastlyexpandstheiroptions.

Thereisanoldsaying“Iwouldn’tbewhoIamtodayifitwasn’tforthepeopleImetandthebooksIhaveread.”Iwouldliketoaddtothat,“orthecountriesIhavevisited.”Youknowwhenyoutraveloutsideyourcountry,yougetexposedtodifferentkindsofpeople,withdif-ferentvisionsofsuccess,differentbeliefsandvalues,differentarchitecture,differentfood,dif-ferentlifestylesanddifferentwaysofdoingthings.Thisallbroadensyourmindset

Traveling outside your business is not just about  borrowing “best prac ces” but combining them into growth‐yielding, wealth‐producing hybrids Myworkasaleadershipguru,trainer,coachhastakenmetoover30differentcountries

aroundtheworldandtosomeextentwhoIamtodayisanamalgamhybridofeachcountryIspentsigni icanttimein.IamalwaysawestruckwhenItakeataxithroughLondonandseeitsgrandeurexpressedin

itsarchitecture.Thesenoblebuildingstellthetaleofasturdy,butambitiouspeopleinhabitingatinyislandwhohadasharedvisionofbuildinganempireandwhocolonizedhalftheworld.IhavebeeninspiredbyhowPMLeeofSingaporehadavisionoftakinghisbroken,previ-

ouslycolonizedcountry“fromthirdworldto irst”inlessthanafewdecades,andfurtherim-pressedbytheabilityofSingaporebusinessmenwhocouldtakeahigh-browbusinessideaandtranslateitintoapracticalbusinessmodelthatwouldmakethecashregistersing.IhavealsobeenimpressedduringmyvisitstoSwitzerland,Germany,andAustriaabout

whatitmeanttodoeverythingwithacommitmenttoexcellenceandquality.ThesecountriesneveradoptedTQMor6Sigmabecausetheydidn’tneedit.

Ifitwasn’tforthe

differentplacesI

visited,Iwouldn’t

bewhoIamtoday.

Thepointisthattravelingoutsideyourcountrycanbeamindexpanding,visionenhancing,paradigmsmashingexperience,andthesamethinghappenswhenyoutraveloutsideyourbusiness.Let’sfaceit,mostCEOsbuildcopycatcompaniesbyplagiarizingthebiggestandbestcompanyintheirindustry.Asaresult,everyoneinthatindustryhasthesamewayofdoingmarketing,thesamewayofdoingproduction,thesamewayofdistributingtheirproductsandservices,thesamewayofinteractingwithcustomers.It’sawaytohelpyourclientsdramaticallyacceleratetheirclimbupthelearningcurve.

Traveling outside your business opens your eyes to leaders who set  impossible goals, quantum leaps, not just next steps Yetlookatwhathappenswhensomeonefromanindustrytravelsoutsidetheirbusiness.It’skindofinterestingisn’titthatAppleandGoogle,thecompanieswhoarethebiggestandbestproducersofsmartphones,wereneverinthecellphonebusinessuntilafewyearsago.TheyaredominatingtheirmarketwhilecopycatcompanieslikeNokia,Motorola,andLGtrytoigureouthowtokeepupwiththem.IcanimagineSteveJobsaskinghimselfthequestion:Howdowebuildasmartphonenotlikeacellphone? HerbKellerherbuiltSouthwestAirlinesnotbyaskinghownottobelikeUnited,American,orDelta.Hewasin luencedbytheentertainmentvalueofDisneyland,thesmalltownmarket-ingstrategyandthriftofWalmart,andthecompassionofthePeaceCorp.

Traveling outside your business can help enable you to see that there is not just one way to fix your opera on, but many unexpected ways Theideaisthatbygettingyourclienttotraveloutsidetheirbusiness(industry),youcanhelpthemnotonlybuildanImpossibleFuture,butastrategyofpre-eminencethatwillhelpthemdominatetheirmarketplace.Iamnotjustsuggestingthattheyexplorewhatoneleadingcom-panyisdoingintheirownindustrythatmakesthemstandoutfromthecrowd,butmaybe20or30companiesfromdifferentindustries.

What can your clients learn from Queen Victoria, Prime Minister Lee of Singapore,  Steve Jobs of Apple? 

Traveling outside your business breaks the grip of marke ng myopia Forexample,let’ssayyourclienthasagreatproductorservicebutwantstodramatically

growtheirbusinessthroughbettermarketing.Theyarefollowingthemarketingpracticesoftheirindustryandtheirindustrydoesonlyonethingtogetcustomers,let’ssaymarketingthroughretailoutlets.Wellwhatwouldhappenifyouhelpedexposethemtothesuccessfulmarketingpracticesof10differentindustriesandtheythencombinedthoseintoahybridmar-ketingapproach?Doingsowoulddramaticallyacceleratetheirclimbupthelearningcurve.

Secondly,ifyourclientturnsouttobetheonlycompanytointroducestrategicdistinctions,operatingsystems,andsellingapproachesintoyour ieldthatarematter-of-facttootherindus-tries,butnooneelseinyourindustryhaseverseenitbeforeorexperiencedit,itwillknockthecompetitorsforaloop.Yourclientwillnotonlyhaveagoodchanceofdistinguishingthem-selvesintheeyesofthecustomer,butofgrowingtheirbusinessexponentiallyandmultiplyingtheirpro its.Take clients through this process and they will think you are brilliant Howtogetstarted:Hereissomethingtodo,ifyouhaveaclientthatsuffersfromlackofvisionorisstuckin“thisisthewaywedothingsaroundhere.”1.Introducetheidea:“TravellingOutsideYourBusiness—fromTunnelVisiontoFunnelVision.”Travellingoutsideyourcountryandseeingdifferentpeoplewithdifferentvisionsanddifferentmethodsfordoingthingsthataredoneeveryday,broadensyourmindset.Thesamethinghappenswhenyoutraveloutsideyourbusinessandexplorehowleadersfromdifferentindustriessetgoalsanddesignstrategiestomatchthem.Youmovefromtunnelvisiontofunnelvision.2.Googlesomevisionary,contrarian“TravelOutsideyourBusiness”casestudies.Inlessthananhour,youcanGoogle5to10CEOswhohavecomeupwithvisionsorapproach-estorealizingthemthataredramaticallydifferentthantherestofthepack.It’simportantto

gatherideasnotjustfromyourclient’sindustries,butacrossindustries.ThinkintermsofideasfromatleasttenindustriesthatshowdifferentapproachestobuildinganImpossibleFuture,buildinginnovativeproducts,supplychainimprovements,andcustomerservice.3.Sharethesewithyourclient;ask:Whichideasdothey indfascinatingorintriguing?Sharetheideaswithyourclienteitherasaprereadtoyourcoachingsession,orasa lipchartorPowerPointpresentation.Makesureyoufocusonwhatothercompaniesdothatwouldbemostrelevanttoyourclient(forexample,standingforanImpossibleFuture,marketingstrategiesandsoon).Thenaskthemwhich,ifany,oftheseideasdothey indfascinatingorintriguing.4.Let’sPlayS’pose.Onceyourclientcomesupwithalistofgoodparadigm-smashingideas,askthemtoplay“Let’sSpose.”Hereare iveexamplesofasmallcompany’sfromdifferentindustrieswhocameupwithatrulyoutside-the-boxImpossibleFuture.Whatcanyoulearnfromthem?Or,hereishowtheleading(mostinnovative)companyinyourindustrydoesthis.Let’ssupposeyourcompanydiditthatway.5.Combinethemostsuccessfulideastocreateahybridbyconnectingthedots.Takeouta lipchartanduseittoteaseoutthebestideasfromthemany.Thenconnectthedotsandcreateahybridapproachtoagame-changingstrategy,newproductdevelopmentprocess,marketingapproachandsoon.Thenextstepistocreateasimpleactionplanandgetgoing.Whatcouldbeaquickwinyourclientcouldaccomplishinthenext30days,60days,90days?6.Coachpeopleinaction.IguaranteeyouthatalltheideasIhavementionedabouttravelingoutsideyourbusinessreallywork,“ifyouworkthem.”Youcan’tjustleadyourclientsthroughtheprocessona lipchartandleaveittheirhands,youhavetocoachtheminaction.

Makesureyoudon’tjustvisitoneindustry,buttenortwentyandthencombinethebestapproachestocreateahybrid.

About the Author 

RobertHargroveisaworld-renowned,revolutionarythoughtleaderinthe ieldoftalentde-velopmentandcoaching.HismottoisBetterLeaders,BetterWorldandhebelievesthatcoach-ingleaderstoachieveanImpossibleFutureisthefastest,mostpowerfulwaytoachieveboth.HargroveisthefounderofMasterfulCoachingandservedasaDirectoroftheHarvardLead-ershipResearchProject.HehasbeenawardedforDistinguishedPublicServicebytheUnitedStatesGovernmentforhiscoachingworkwithpoliticalleaders.HargrovehasalsoplayedapivotalandhighlyinstrumentalroleinrebrandingcampaignsincompanieslikeAdidas,PhilipsElectronics,EsteeLauder,andtheNationalHockeyLeague.Hargrove’scoachingapproachisoneoftheonlymethodswhichdeliversrealROI.Accordingtooneclient,“WeprettymuchstuckwiththeMasterfulCoachingapproachanditmadethecompanyhundredsofmillionsofdollars.”HargroveistheauthorofbestsellingbusinessbookMasterfulCoachingandmanyotherbooksonleadership,coachingandcollaboration.

Contact RobertHargrove+1617-953-6230Robert.Hargrove@MasterfulCoaching.comwww.MasterfulCoaching.comwww.RobertHargrove.comwww.MyFirst100Days.netwww.theRevenueEngine.com