I continue to be bemused and disappointed by the extent to which some egos cause the decline (and sometime “collapse”) of Kiwi businesses. Yes, there is a strong sense of pride and fierce independence that runs through the veins of many Kiwis. Accepted and admired.
However, it is this same strong feeling of “having/ wanting to stand on our own two feet no matter what” among a big chunk of the New Zealand population that is actually causing the demise of many Kiwi businesses. Why ? Because business owners with this inbuilt strong sense of pride/ independence are:
a) Convinced that no one in the world could possibly ever offer them guidance/ support/ input that would add value to and/ or advance their business.
b) Strongly resistant to seeking or accepting guidance/ input into their business by other people – despite the qualifications and/ or experience and/ or achievements of other people who are available to help.
c) Not willing to accommodate the ideas/ thoughts/ inputs of other people generally. In other words they consider that they alone have a monopoly on good ideas that are relevant for their business.
I once worked alongside a director who had the memorable saying of “splendid in our isolation“. Meaning ? This expression means that business owners can run the risk of seeing themselves as being splendid at what they do and/ or in terms of their accomplishments when the owner keeps to themselves and doesn’t belong to (or interact with) a network such as franchise. This self-sense/ illusion of superiority is a “bubble” that can “burst” quite quickly if/ when the business owner starts to consider (become aware of) the practices/ achievements/ performances of similar businesses operating around them…including discovering where their shortcomings exist relative to other players in the same industry.
I know of a considerably experienced person who walked away from a major (nationally available) commercial capability improvement programme during 2016 mainly for the reason that he become fed-up at trying to influence these strongly independent business owners to open their minds far enough to at least trial the mentoring/ guidance that is available via this programme. A classic “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” situation.
My advice to Kiwi business owners is open your mind to hear/ see what suitably qualified/ experienced people have to offer you in terms of insights into your business – and/ or plausible ways for you to consider improving it. Remember – often it is difficult to “see the wood for the trees” when you’re so submerged in your business. You don’t have to “accept” (act on/ implement) the suggestions that others provide you – that’s your prerogative. But at least be prepared to give them a fair hearing – a gem of an idea that has the potential to improve how you operate your business may just show itself as a result.