What Happens When Excuses & Bad Advice Win Out

What Happens When Excuses & Bad Advice Win Out

Author: Vitaliy Verbenko / Source: Business 2 Community Entrepreneurs are under a lot of pressure these days. Success isn’t a walk in the

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Entrepreneurs are under a lot of pressure these days. Success isn’t a walk in the park either. Startups grow so fast that they simply don’t have time to correct their course even after they recognize their mistakes. It’s not easy to see why: a business that’s growing quickly tends to get the founder’s hopes up.

A quickly growing business also puts pressure on everyone to perform. Losing speed, relinquishing control and disjointed teams become primary points of concern.

It’s also worth to note the extent of personal bias in managing these growing pains. Managers are human, so they interpret many questions through the prism of their abilities and perspectives:

  • How involved should I be?
  • How exactly should I scale my business?
  • How much structure and siloing is necessary?

Ultimately, one way to face your fears is to take action. By focusing what you can do right now and moving on to the next step, you’re already moving ahead. Action cures fear – so the act doing something reduces stress and anxiety. It also prevents your mind from wandering around excuses and dissecting all the advice you’ve been given.

Know how to filter through advice

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Dr. Art Markham from Psychology Today maintains that not all advice is created equal.

It’s important to dissect advice based on what you know to be true. Consider the advisor’s unique experience and motives for giving that advice – as well as your own unique bias in consuming that advice:

In order to help yourself take advice, then, you really need to try to take someone else’s perspective when making a decision. You have to realize that you are going to want to stick with your own initial opinion. Rather than looking for advice that agrees with what you already hope to do, try to imagine the situation from the standpoint of someone else.

It’s difficult to put yourself in someone else’s shoes – yet it’s necessary in order to develop listening and perspective-altering skills. These skills will allow you to stay impartial and well-informed when the time comes to take action. When consuming advice, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the reason for this advice?

While some people give advice for altruistic reasons, others use advice to promote their own self-interest.

From review sites to online discussion boards, prospective car owners often get into lengthy debates over which car make, model and trim level to purchase. For example, one potential buyer might be looking for reliability, while another may place more importance on performance or exclusivity of their car. Often conflicting opinions and advice is presented, making it difficult to make the right decision.

That’s because each and every user’s unique perspectives, wants and needs make a huge impact on the advice they give.

2. What is your perspective of this advice?

Just like advice-givers are biased in their recommendations, advice-seekers tend to be more receptive to advice that validates their opinions. As a result you should be…

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