I have relatives in Florida that used to own a lawn-mowing business. They would cut and trim grass for local residences and businesses. A few years ago one of my relatives was telling me a story about how the crew members are perfectionists about the lawn.
"After we're done, we walk across the street, into the adjoining neighbors' yards, etc., to make sure we've done a great job trimming," he said. Then, I said, "why walk across the street? Can't you tell when you're trimming." "No, way," he said. "You can't tell when you're on it. It all looks good from that vantage point. You need a different perspective."
I've thought about this conversation a lot since I've become a business owner. There are things we just don't see as we are forging ahead each day, toiling in our businesses and our lives. We need to step back and try to see how we're doing and where we can improve. We need to get off the lawn. How can we do this? We'll we can gain help from mentors, peer groups, etc., and we can stop working in our business and start working on our businesses.
Sometimes, it just takes some humility. It's ok not to have all the answers and ask for guidance and help. That's how we all grow.
Just realizing you need to "get off the grass" is the first step. Take it today.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
