Leaders Ask “How Would I Put Myself Out of Business?”

I heard a great question from Des Moines business leader Nora Everett of Principal:

“How would you put yourself out of business?”

Whether you apply it to your entire business, or your team, you can come up with some great improvement ideas from exploring this question.

I applied it to my own business and came up with some great ideas, as well as discovered some weaknesses I hadn’t thought of.

It’s challenging, interesting, and can lead to other tangents that can help you get to know your strengths and weaknesses by coming at them from a different direction.

For example:

• Have you been slow to keep up with technology and the latest ways to communicate with customers?
• Do you pay attention to your clientele even when they’re not engaged with you at the moment?
• Could competitors hire your best people away from you because they offer a better situation?
• Have you failed to address ways you’re doing business that could result in bad reviews?

If you’re courageous, you could pose this question to the people on your team:

If you left us and started a competing business, how would you crush us in the marketplace, based on your inside knowledge?

Enjoy the discussion and the opportunity to grow!