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Seven Deadly Business Sins - 5. Pride

Pride - number 5 in a series of articles outlining seven common business mistakes to avoid. Kindly supplied by Jane Buswell of Business Fulcrum

Pride has been called "the sin from which all others arise" so wed better get our heads round it quickly!

So firstly its also known as vanity and secondly its about having an excessive belief in ones own abilities; thirdly its desiring to be more important or attractive than others; and finally its failing to acknowledge the good work of others.

Lets take this a bit at a time: an excessive belief in your own abilities will hold you back in business its as simple as that. Youll think you can do everything but you cant – and almost certainly not as well as those who are trained and expert. Yes folks this is about taking on help instead of muddling through – and slowly - so:

Not confident with spreadsheets, invoicing, or cash flow? Get a book-keeper or accountant

Working with a PC which keeps going wrong? Get IT support

Worried about putting an ad or brochure together and no idea how to reach your target audience? Get marketing advice.

Why should this be so surprising? After all youre trying to sell a product or service that is supposed to be helping people improve their lives!

Pride may lead to you taking a lofty stance about something being irrelevant without checking whether that might actually be the case. A few of my older clients firstly pooh poohed the need for a mobile phone, then a website and e-mail address and now social networking. If everyone else is talking about and using new things theres probably a reason for it. Have you seen this rather amusing viewpoint regarding the 5 stages of innovation?

1. People deny that the innovation is required.
2. People deny that the innovation is effective.
3. People deny that the innovation is important.
4. People deny that the innovation will justify the effort required to adopt it.
5. People accept and adopt the innovation, enjoy its benefits, attribute it to people other than the innovator, and deny the existence of stages 1 to 4

Oh and heres a mini case study:

Said by Drillers whom Edwin L Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? Youre crazy."

You get my drift...

Dont be so proud that you think you are as good as you are ever going to be and better than everyone else. You must continue to hone your own skills through continual professional development so keep reading and researching your own area of expertise or you may find that the advice for which you charge has become out of step and irrelevant.
Finally in acknowledging the good work of others this includes saying thank you to those who have worked hard to get you a referral or introduction or helped you to deliver a project on time I cant believe Im even raising this point but Im dismayed at how many people see saying thank you as something which is superfluous in todays business circles. Its not.

And do think about giving testimonials and things like recommendations on LinkedIn

Having emotional intelligence is an amazingly potent business tool.

Jane Buswell
janebuswell@businessfulcrum.co.uk
07966155518
Follow Jane on her blog: http://businessfulcrum.blogspot.com

Jane Buswell
Business Fulrum

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