As business owners we sometimes don’t want to hear advice, any advice even if we know deep down inside ourselves that the person giving us the advice really has our best interests to heart. However we play deaf.
The advisor could be referred to as your ‘unreasonable friend’ however I choose to call them your ‘unreasonable, reasonable friend’, the difference being that the extra bit of reasonableness which can make a significant difference to our businesses.
If you have ever said to someone “I just wish they could have told me that before” or “I wish I knew that before I did this or that”. Imagine for a moment that there is someone who genuinely has your best interests in mind and has nothing to lose by telling you what you need to hear, other than “I told you so”.
If your success could be linked to simply having perspective, honest, open and constructive commentary wouldn’t you want to hear it? I am sure the captain of the Titanic had wished he’d turned the wheel sooner, or better still that someone had raised the alarm a lot sooner than they did.
If your business is keeping an eye out for the iceberg or the bump in the road then all good and well, but if not, then perhaps someone else with the binoculars peering into the mist ahead could help. We are that voice.