It’s a pattern I see so many of my new coaching clients using until I have helped them establish a new pattern of thinking. Their initial strategy goes like this…
They have a potentially great idea to improve their business, career opportunities or some aspect of their personal life. It does not matter what the precise situation is; the problem is what happens next…
They BUT it …
They say things like: BUT what if it does not work, BUT what if my board do not agree, BUT what if my partner does not like it, BUT what if it goes wrong, BUT what if my customers do not buy it, BUT what if others just copy us, BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT…
And then they drop it because their head is filled with so many reasons as to why it will not work they forget how excited and inspired they first were.
Of course every new opportunity may bring with it challenges to overcome and must be carefully evaluated, AND the questions to ask when each challenge comes up should be HOW will we make it work, HOW can I get the board to agree, HOW can I get my partner to like this, HOW can we ensure it does not go wrong, HOW can we ensure our customers do buy it, HOW can we differentiate ourselves if others copy us, HOW, HOW, HOW.
Ask enough HOW questions and the answers will almost certainly come.
Are you a BUT person or a HOW person?” And how will you evaluate opportunities from now on?