Comfort Zone - In or Out?

Comfort zones are a fascinating concept. We all have them, yet no two are identical. They are formed by a combination of our upbringing, our life experiences and our aptitude for adventure (or lack thereof).

Over the weekend, I won some tickets to the Indy Fringe Theater Festival. Part of the prize package included a nights stay at a local bed & breakfast. At breakfast, my wife & I struck up a conversation with one of the performers (also staying there). When he found out that this was our first Fringe, he encouraged us to "get out of your comfort zone". I have a long-standing love for theater, so I couldn't imagine being challenged in this regard, but I found it to be an interesting comment.

As we attended numerous shows over the weekend, we did find ourselves out of our proverbial zone. Traditionally "taboo" topics, unexpected nudity and alternative lifestyles all came together in a perfect storm of oddness...

Don't get me wrong, we had a fantastic weekend, and found it to be very entertaining. But parts of it were challenging. I don't see adopting a new lifestyle now or parading around the office naked, but the experience did cause me to think differently, and I believe that is always good.

As innovators, we have our own comfort zones. It's very tough to create bold new products or services if we allow ourselves to remain within them. However, we also have to realize that our target consumers have their own comfort zones, and the reality is most won't buy products that fall outside of them. Close-out stores are filled with products that were too "out-there" to resonate with anyone specifically.

So what does this all mean? This is just more evidence that we really must recognize that our wants & needs are most likely different from our customers'. It will probably cause us some discomfort to find the zone that most resonates with them.

Switching to Wordpress

I have decided to switch this blog to wordpress from blogspot. The new address is jmccolgin.wordpress.com. If you have subscribed to this feed please make the change so that you can continue to receive new updates. I welcome your feedback on the new site. Please let me know what you think!

Having faith in your business...

In spite of the projected upturns in the economy, it seems that the news remains filled with companies (both large and small) going under. It grows increasingly tougher to remain optimistic about the future, when the present seems to only get worse. How do we discipline ourselves to do the right things now, so that we will be around when the economy does rebound?

I watched a movie over the weekend called Faith Like Potatoes. While it is primarily a Christian themed movie, it had a lot of tremendous applications for a business during a tough environment.

During these times, we all hear a lot of advice; better not spend any money, don't take any undue risks, delay any investments until times get better. And it's very tempting to follow these well-meaning suggestions. But the reality is, looking at our business in this way can take away the rewards that we should be striving for down the road.

In the movie (based on a true story), Angus, the main character, plants potatoes (a highly profitable, though somewhat risky crop) in a time of drought. Everyone told him he was crazy, that he would lose everything as a result. It drove those around him crazy that they couldn't see the progress of the potatoes as they grew underground. Those that went the "safe" route and planted corn could see their progress throughout the season. But Angus believed that he had done the right thing and would be rewarded when it was the time for harvest.

What potatoes are you planting? What investments are you making simply because you "know" its the right thing to do. In reality, we all operate in faith to some degree. We believe the sun will rise and set, we believe our employees will come to work, we believe that if we work hard we'll be successful. Why is it that so many remove faith from critical portions of their business?

More than ever, we need to believe that our companies will survive, and potentially thrive once again. With that in mind, we need to be equipping ourselves for the future, not just burying our heads in the sand to survive the present. Even if like potatoes, our investments are growing unseen in the near-term, we need to believe that doing the right things now will pay off in the future.

Sometimes it's about the journey

I'll admit it. I'm an impatient person. I like to get to where I'm going as quickly as possible. That's true for my Vision, my goals, and typically - even my road trips. So I was not initially excited when my wife "kidnapped" me this past week and told me we were going on a road trip.

Work has been stressful for awhile, and I've probably been less jovial than usual. Our 27th wedding anniversary is coming up, and she told me that we were going to escape life for a few days and head out to Gatlinburg, TN. I couldn't imagine what could be in Gatlinburg that was more important than what I was facing at work, but she persisted and we went.

My first reaction was to pull up Google Maps and determine the most direct route to get there. But along the way she insisted that we leave the Interstate and just drive through the countryside. Despite my discomfort in doing this, I went along with her request. And after awhile, it occurred to me that it was the journey that was important in this case. The experience of getting there. We stopped at a winery, toured a distillery and even ate at the birthplace of KFC.

Unlike most things I do in life, there was no agenda, no start or finish time and no due dates. It was just a time to be together and to take in the scenery. Why is it that this type of experience is so rare in our time-stressed culture? I have European friends that regularly take the entire month of August to just explore a new country or region. But we're so busy being busy that it seldom occurs to us.

We work with consumers all the time. They all complain that there is not enough time in the day to get everything done. Products that make them more efficient are highly desired, as they imagine gaining more free time through the use of them. In reality, if we could free up 30% of a person's time, how long would it stay unstructured?

Maybe the biggest unmet need people have is not simply a new product, but a change in perspective. Maybe we should focus on helping more people just enjoy the journey...