Thinking big picture is the process of stretching, extending your thinking far beyond the immediate day-to-day needs your business. It’s moving outside the box, looking for an edge, and striving for something farther off than you may assume possible. It’s establishing a vision for your company that doesn’t include merely wanting to make money.
If you’ve been struggling with thinking small (a.k.a. purely taking action in reaction to daily needs), don’t worry. You can start thinking big by following these simple principles.
Don’t Sacrifice the Long-Term Gain for a Short-Term Win
Let’s start with a real-life sports anecdote because it simply works. All-star point guard, Kyrie Irving, recently took time off amid what’s been a successful season for him. Why? A past injury to his knee was beginning to be a problem.
Irving was originally just taking himself out for a few games, solving the immediate need. Then, realizing he was pushing it for a short-term goal, decided he needed to take real time off. He wanted to ensure that he’d be at his full strength for his long-term goal for the victory.
Sometimes, you may get caught drowning in short-term needs and render yourself incapable of achieving long-term goals. Hence, it’s important to constantly check yourself on how your actions today are leading to or away from potential long-term gains.
Thus, the first step towards focusing on the big picture? Don’t lose sight of your long-term plans in exchange for accomplishing the daily to-do list. If you lose sight of the long-term, you’ve lost the entire season in exchange for a single game.
Avoid Micromanaging
When you avoid trying to control every aspect of your work, you’ll find inspiration and innovation will bloom. This is in part because when you’re not trying to manage everything, you become free to actually think. Additionally, when you depend on those you’ve hired to do what it is you hired them to do, the opportunity for growth is boundless.
When you avoid micromanaging, you’ll realize the value in not merely freeing your own mind, but in finding another person to think.
Always Come Back to Your Company’s Purpose
It’s important to give yourself time to reflect on your company’s vision in comparison to your company in action. If need be, allocate a time slot in your week specifically for reflection.
Treat this appointment with yourself as you’d any other important meeting that’s essential to the success of your company. It can be a solo meeting with you and a notebook or a discussion with your team.
To start, try asking yourself the following questions:
- What’s the vision?
- Where am I successful?
- Where am I not?
- What actionable goals can I make?
- Who would be most effective in helping achieve these goals?
Thinking Big Means Falling Short Isn’t a Failure
If you’re making assumptions about how your goals can be achieved, then you’re over complicating your path and quite possibly stunting your potential gains. To think big picture, you have to know that you need to be making big goals, reaching to innovate and quite possibly taking big chances.
The ROI for thinking big is a win even when you fall short. If you’re going big, you’ll have achieved far more than you ever would if you stayed inside the box.
Don’t Be Shy
One final principle to thinking big is thinking outside yourself. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your network or even outside your network. Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Neil Patel has said, “you get one point for a great idea, nine points for writing that idea into a plan and ninety points for executing it”. You’ve got the great ideas. You may even have a good plan. Let us help you overcome barriers and take it through to execution!