Do You Have A Growth Mindset?

Blog post by Deb Dietz

​Do you relish opportunities for self-improvement? Are you on a quest for knowledge? Are you intellectually curious?

Take, for example, a business owner who has a growth mindset. How does she/he differ from a business owner without a growth mindset? One of the primary differences is having a greater sense of purpose and keeping the big picture in mind.

Often, business owners get stuck in the day-to-day. They are so busy doing what they've always done that they don't prioritize taking a step back to think. Yes, time to think is critical for business success. Taking time to reflect every day is so important. You need to reflect on what you learned today....and take some time to think about what you need to learn about. What do you need to KNOW?

Take, for example, your business planning process. Is it working for you? What did you learn the last time you led your business through this process? Did you learn where you have vulnerabilities? Did you learn what you're good at? Did you learn if your employees are happy campers? Did you learn where you are financially vulnerable? Did you learn if the competition is gaining ground? Did you learn about where you can innovate? Did you learn where to redeploy human and financial resources to have a greater financial and customer impact?

​You must pay attention. You must find answers to these questions - and many others, in order to take your business to the next level. You need to work your brain and embark on a continuous learning path. People with a growth mindset are always learning. They always want to improve.

Take your strategic business planning process. You've probably hired an outside consultant in the past to help you through the process. You hired the expertise. The consultant you hired learned a great deal about your business. They helped you develop your plan. But, then they moved on and left you to implement. They took their knowledge of your business with them. They became better consultants because of it. You both benefited. You have a plan, that you can now implement, but the consultant just built another layer of expertise on top of their already substantial knowledge base. Every time they engage in a consulting assignment, they learn more.

​But, what if you decided you wanted to learn more? Consider this. Consider you led the business planning process yourself, surrounded by your team, all learning an effective method of planning that can result in double digit, profitable revenue growth. You provide an opportunity for learning within your organization. You bring a growth mindset inside your business, inside yourself, and inside your people. This collaborative learning process can be the spark that ignites your growth mindset, and the spark that ignites the growth of your business.