A Radical Thinking Strategy

Consultant — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 01:36:02 +0000

Zero-based thinking is a decision-making technique developed by Brian Tracy that encourages starting new decisions from a neutral standpoint, ignoring past decisions and sunk costs. This approach involves questioning and re-evaluating assumptions, beliefs, and strategies to ensure that the decision is the best one for the current situation. By adopting a zero-based thinking mindset, businesses can break out of habitual thinking patterns, overcome biases, and make more effective decisions that drive growth.

To apply zero-based thinking, you can use KWINK analysis. It is a decision-making tool that stands for “Knowing What I Now Know.” It helps businesses avoid repeating past mistakes and hanging on to unhelpful or ineffective ways of doing business. It involves 3 simple steps, however it requires discipline and courage to be effective:

Identify problem areas: Look for areas in your business that are causing stress or frustration. What are repeating gripes, frustrating tasks or processes, people you are not getting the right results from?
Evaluate your past decisions: Ask yourself if you would make the same decision again, now that you have more information: “Knowing What I Now Know, would I make the same decision again?” Would I get into it again? Would I start doing what I am doing, the way I am doing it? Would I hire this person, and would I give them these tasks? Be honest and courageous in your answer, even if it means admitting a mistake. Also, be aware of your biases and assumptions and be prepared to question them.
Cut your losses and make necessary changes: If you realize you made a mistake, take action to correct it. The need to change should now be clear, and the next question is how can you minimise the emotional and financial losses? This could mean firing a bad hire, changing how you go about a certain task or changing your approach to a business strategy or process. It could even mean taking a different course of action altogether.

In summary, these three steps involve identifying the problem areas, evaluating whether you would make the same decision again, and then making changes if necessary to improve your situation. It requires honesty, courage, and a willingness to let go of past decisions if they no longer serve your purpose. Applied regularly, they present a powerful method for business owners looking to improve their decision-making processes, keep evolving and growing their business, and increase their chances of success.

For example, a business may have previously launched a new product without thoroughly researching the market demand or conducting a proper analysis of their target audience. After the launch, the product may have failed to gain enough traction in the market, resulting in poor financial performance for the business.

Many options exist in dealing with this situation, from making changes to the product to increased marketing efforts, however, by using the “knowing what I now know” approach, the business owner can learn from their mistakes and gather valuable insights from their previous experience with a much cleaner slate. They can then use this knowledge to discontinue the product and develop a new product that is better aligned with customer needs and preferences and avoid making the same mistakes they made before. Cutting your losses early and failing fast are better for long-term success than pouring your resources into a lost cause.

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Custom-built or Out-of-the-Box Software: Which is the Best Fit for Your Business?

Consultant — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 23:09:42 +0000

I’ve recently had several discussions about business software, which can solve specific problems in various industries, such as eCommerce shops and airport shuttle booking software. I was surprised by the amount of resources many small and medium-sized business owners are willing to spend on building customized software tools.

Businesses have two main options when it comes to software solutions: custom-built or out-of-the-box. Custom-built software is designed and developed specifically for a business and purpose, while out-of-the-box software is a ready-made solution that is sold and resold to many businesses in the same industry.

While both options have their advantages and disadvantages, the choice ultimately depends on the specific needs and goals of the business. However, they also need to consider their experience, expertise, and resources available for managing a software build. Let’s explore some pros and cons of custom-built and out-of-the-box software and discuss which option might be right for your business.

Custom-built Software

Pros:

Tailored to the needs of the business and can cater to specific nuances of the business’s way of working and their unique value proposition.
Provides a competitive advantage by offering unique features not available to competitors.
The business has full control over the software, including features, functionality, and maintenance.

Cons:

Developing custom-built software can be time-consuming and expensive, taking resources away from other areas of the business.
Your business may not have the experience or resources to manage the build of custom software well to achieve the desired outcomes.
Custom-built software often starts from zero. All base functions have to be created from scratch, adding to the implementation cost.
Requires constant maintenance and updates, as new requirements and changes in business processes arise and as technology changes.

Out-of-the-Box Software

Pros:

More affordable and can be quickly set up, allowing smaller and medium businesses to allocate resources to other areas of their business.
Made by domain experts and designed to cover the basics as well as future functions you may not even use, yet. Industry best practices and customer experience research would have gone into creating a well-developed product over a significant amount of time.
Typically user-friendly, requires little to no training for employees, and it is maintained and updated by the creator of the software.

Cons:

May not be tailored to the specific needs of the business, and integration with the rest of the business is a major consideration when choosing a provider.
Not unique to the business, meaning competitors may have access to the same software and features.
The business may have limited control over the software, including features, functionality, and maintenance.

Which Option is Right for Your Business?

The choice between custom-built and out-of-the-box software ultimately depends on the specific needs and goals of the business. If your business has complex processes that require unique software solutions, custom-built software may be the best option. On the other hand, you need to ask the question where those complex processes arise from. Do they ultimately service the purpose and mission of your business, or do they themselves need to be reviewed and aligned with industry best practices.

A business that shares the most common requirements of the industry and differentiates itself not through software features, but unique offerings and services, may benefit more from out-of-the-box software to quickly deploy a solution without getting into the software development business.

It’s essential to weigh the pros and cons of each option and consider the specific requirements of your business before making a decision. Additionally, consulting with an independent expert is always a good idea to determine which option is best for your business.

Ultimately, making an informed choice and putting a well-integrated software solution at the centre of your business activity usually delivers a step toward increased productivity and growth, and a better experience for your customers and staff.

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