Falling Off the Internet
I didn’t know falling off the internet was possible. The earth is round after all. But this week, as I was showing a friend the platform we used to build the website of our small business, I googled us, “GRIFF Strategic Leadership.” Our website did not come up, page after page, after page after page.
While my first thought was panic, and my second thought was, “I can’t possibly fix this.” I acted upon a third idea. It is a strategy that we, as a small business, employ with much of what we confront. It’s also a strategy we encourage our clients to take when addressing a challenge. I sought to learn more about the problem.
Challenges for Small Business
Whether it’s dealing with challenging people or challenging situations, taking a step back and learning more is a highly productive first step. Consider these common workplace challenges:
- The employee who, incrementally, is less reliable;
- The contract that the client chose not to renew;
- The operations project that is taking up too much time and energy.
The words of Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., may sound familiar, “It’s critical to reward not just effort but learning and progress, and to emphasize the processes that yield these things, such as seeking help from others, trying new strategies, and capitalizing on setbacks to move forward effectively. In all of our research, the outcome — the bottom line — follows from deeply engaging in these processes.”
As a small business, putting out fires requires a lot of personal and emotional energy, something we can ill-afford to waste. By building a process that allows us to be open to hidden opportunities, we are better prepared for unforeseen challenges. The first step in that process is to learn more. Be curious. Ask questions. Explore possibilities. Question assumptions.
For you SEO experts, I got this. I may be a little late to the party but I have a better handle on how to develop our site. I am happy to report our website is back on top in search results. For anyone presented with one of a myriad of challenges small businesses face on a daily basis, look at it as another opportunity to learn.
If you haven’t read Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, I highly recommend the book. Stay curious!
By Susan N. Hall, Director of Media & Design
Image by NASA