by Zoe Zorka
Image via Pixabay
You can read a lot about the different traits that people associate with good leaders, and successful entrepreneurs. The ability to network effectively, is one such trait that commonly gets mentioned in articles on the subject. And, long-term thinking, and good time management, are also clearly associated with running a successful business.
Another trait that has been praised by some of the most successful figures in business, not to mention some of the most successful commentators on business, is the ability to be proactive and outgoing, and to take creative and daring action.
This has been referred to as having a “bias for action” or following the “fire, aim, fire” approach – an approach where you begin by taking action, then measure the effects of that action, and then recalibrate and take action again.
The business world certainly seems to be a place where those who are willing and able to be proactive, daring, and creative, tend to do better than their rivals. Although, of course, that daring action has to be balanced with a good degree of discipline, and strategic thinking.
In any case, if you find that you’re a bit too comfortable with “playing it safe” in your professional life, and take too long to make decisions, or to “put yourself out there,” developing the skill of being more proactive may radically transform your prospects for the better.
Here are a few reasons why it pays to take creative and daring action in business.
Because the fewer people there are who are doing what you’re doing, the more attention-grabbing your actions will be
A major part of success in business – especially now, in the Internet age, when prospective customers and clients can search through every company on the planet from the comfort of their own living rooms – is simply grabbing people’s attention, and not letting go.
Whatever it is you do in your professional life, you’ll certainly find that when you’re only one of a small number of people following a particular course, your actions will be more attention grabbing, and may yield significant benefits for that reason.
Of course, this is especially true in the world of marketing. The “play it safe” approach to marketing would involve relying entirely on cold emailing, and similar, comfortable practices that have been tried and tested for a long time now.
The only problem with those “tried and tested” strategies and techniques, is that they are the kinds of things that just about every company is doing, and that prospective customers are well accustomed to, and are well accustomed to ignoring.
Marketing straight to voicemail, via a company such as Slybroadcast, on the other hand, is far more likely to actually get the attention of the people you are reaching out to. It’s also the sort of marketing strategy that your would-be customers and clients are not likely to encounter half as often as other approaches.
This, then, at least makes it more interesting than what the bulk of your competitors are likely to be doing. In addition, of course, to the fact that it’s a more efficient approach, that allows you to reach out to hundreds, or thousands of leads or prospects at once.
Because all innovation is based on creativity and daring, in the first place
Creativity and innovation are sacred words in business, and many a lecture has been given about the genius of Steve jobs creating the iPhone, Bill Gates creating Microsoft, and assorted other pioneers in their fields doing the work of bringing something into existence that revolutionised the way their industry was understood.
The thing about innovation, and also creativity to some degree, is that these things depend fundamentally on daring, in the first place.
If you want to innovate something, and potentially “change the game,” you’re going to need to go out there more or less on your own, and be willing to face the prospect of ridicule, criticism, doubt, scepticism, and just general confusion, that you are bound to face.
You also have to be willing to contend with the very real possibility of failure, and all that that could mean for your professional life.
Creativity and daring are the fuel that feed innovation – and innovation is absolutely vital to the healthy functioning, and success, of a company over the long term.
Because in business, you learn primarily by taking action, and assessing the results of that action
A lot of people like to entertain the idea that they could stay in the “planning phase” for ever, and become better, and better, and better by endlessly researching and scheming.
As the idea then runs, they will eventually burst onto the scene, or take action, and that this action will lead to tremendous success, accolades, growth, and all the rest, overnight.
The reality is, it’s impossible to “learn” all that you need to know about properly running a business, unless you actually take action, and assess the results of that action in a professional context.
In fact, it’s probably fair to say that in business, you learn primarily by taking action, and not primarily by conducting research. Of course, research can be vital, and it certainly has its place. But keeping things theoretical doesn’t allow you to adjust to the realities on the ground, refine your strategy and approach, and take the world by storm.
Because new ideas and approaches are just more intrinsically appealing for the most part
People are all naturally hardwired to seek novelty, and to be attracted to things that are “new” and shiny.
This preference seems built into our neurochemistry, with the hormone dopamine fundamentally motivating us to seek out things that we don’t yet have, that might be useful or appealing to us.
Of course, this fundamental neurochemistry of ours is often exploited, such as by the gambling industry, whose systems are designed specifically to throw us into dopaminergic loops that we can’t escape.
Nonetheless, if you are trying to appeal to a good deal of the prospective customers and clients out there, it’s useful to realise that they are likely to be more interested in things that seem appealing to them, but that they haven’t encountered before, than things that they are already familiar with and enjoy.
Taking daring and creative action allows you to introduce new “props” to the game that get people’s attention.