August 2024 Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter
August 15, 2024
Hello Peripheral Thinkers™!
This month’s newsletter organization is different than that of previous newsletters. As I was preparing content about the Peripheral Thinking™ skill called ‘Surveying,’ client examples kept coming to mind. I can give you a clinical account of the companies, industries, situations, and resolutions. But what fun would that be? Besides, stories make principles and ideas more memorable.
Ready for a story and another Peripheral Thinking™ skill?
Gather round.
Peripheral Perspective – Proactive Innovation
BACKSTORY
You’ve read posts, articles, and even newsletters that begin with…
“In today’s complex and rapidly changing business landscape…” Blah. Blah. Blah.
We all know that business is changing quickly. We also know that adaptability is important. However, resilience may be a better term to use as our starting point. I will go further by saying that “proactive resilience” is the difference between surviving and thriving. (Thriving over surviving… another overused phrase.)
How about this…
“Proactive Resilience”
Yep. That’s better.
What’s best?
“Proactive Innovation.” It's the difference between building a fun, healthy, always-growing business and having a business that sucks the life out of you and is easily rocked by any change.
Innovation draws on the lessons from adaptability and resilience. Innovation combines these lessons with insights from other experiences to create proactively.
Thus… Proactive Innovation.
Okay. Enough wordplay.
STORYTIME
Historically, companies that have successfully navigated crises often did so not through incremental improvements but through a radical rethinking of their strategies and operations. During the 2008 financial crisis, companies like Amazon thrived by diversifying their business models and exploring new markets like cloud computing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses employing Peripheral Thinking™ quickly adjusted their operations and service delivery models, allowing them to continue operations and even find new growth avenues amid global lockdowns.
In April 2020, I spoke with a client whose primary revenue came from collecting hospital patient payments. It was becoming clear that the pandemic would last more than a few months and significantly impact his business’s viability for years.
To further complicate matters, the business owner was committed to retaining all employees until they shut the doors.
A noble gesture that added pressure to find options and fast.
Because the pandemic impacted every industry, looking to new markets for revenue didn’t make sense.
So, the business sat with underutilized people, solid communications and payments technology, and an offering with no foreseeable clients. While their competitors cut staff by 70%, canceled technology agreements, turned the lights off, and huddled at home trying to ride out the storm, my client went on offense.
You’ve heard me state that people who deploy the Peripheral Thinking™ skills easily challenge convention, find multiple paths to growth and innovation, and thrive in ANY MARKET ENVIRONMENT. Let this story be another proof point for any doubters.
We looked deeper into hospital needs and the company’s core resources in search of a love connection.
The conversation went a little like this:
Client: “I’m hanging on by a thread, Paul.”
Paul: “I hear you, but you have options. Our job is to find them.”
Client: “I’m all ears.”
Paul: “Have you been to a hospital recently?”
Client: “No. Thank God. However, the mother of one of our people—Josie—is in the hospital with COVID.”
Paul: “Have you called the hospital where Josie’s mom is?”
Client: “Yes, but I was on hold for so long that I just called Josie to get an update.”
Paul: “Is the hospital where Josie’s mom is one of your clients?”
Client: “In fact, it is. Why?”
Paul: “Do you remember the ‘Surveying’ skill we’ve been working on? The one we use to see past details to gain a strategic (big picture) view of a subject or problem. We’ve used it with your strategic planning. How can you apply that skill with the hospital?”
Client: “From a high-level perspective, the hospital is overwhelmed at every level and department.”
Paul: “Right. The hospital is overwhelmed in every department, from medical staff to facilities, and everywhere else.”
Client: “I feel for those people. But I don’t have medical or facilities resources.”
Paul: “What do you have?”
Client: “I have agents trained to work with patients and their medical bills post-discharge. We have our systems and a little working capital.”
Paul: “Go higher level.”
Client: “I have a business with people who know how to talk to people in various emotional states.”
Paul: “Right. You mentioned that you called the hospital, and the switchboard was swamped.”
Client: “We have people who can answer phones! We may not have all the answers, but my people know how to follow a script and handle questions.”
Paul: “Excellent! You have a lot of hospital clients, right?”
Client: “RIGHT!”
The client worked with his hospital clients on their most frequently asked questions and scripted personalized responses. The hospitals routed inbound calls to my client’s skilled agents. Any question my client’s staff couldn’t answer was transferred to the correct hospital department. The client’s staff handled nearly 80% of all inbound calls for all their hospital clients.
By early June, his staff was as busy as ever.
While others were waiting for the tides to change, my client proactively innovated using what they already had but in different ways.
By the way, my client’s 2020 revenue grew by 50% and has continued to grow yearly. They continue to offer this service today in addition to their pre-COVID services.
While most companies learned to be more adaptable during the pandemic, my clients innovated before and beyond the obstacles. They are not adapting to change; they are creating the change.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Let’s be practical…
Let’s NOT!
Let’s be Peripheral
Peripheral Thinking’s™ ‘Surveying’ skill encourages looking beyond industry boundaries to understand how various elements can be integrated into business strategies and innovation. Here are a few suggestions to grow your ‘Surveying’ skill and support your business innovation:
Cross-Industry Inspiration: Effective innovation often involves applying solutions from one industry to problems in another. Retailers, for instance, can adopt telemedicine technologies from the healthcare industry to enhance online customer engagement and service.
Diverse Teams: Teams of individuals from various professional and cultural backgrounds will likely approach problems differently, leading to more creative and innovative solutions.
External Collaboration: Engaging with startups, academic institutions, or even competitors offers fresh perspectives into the business, extending your company’s capability to grow beyond its internal resources.
Explorers: Promoting a culture that values exploration and continuous learning is essential. Companies might need to redefine organizational values or adjust performance metrics to support innovation over short-term results. In my client’s case, they innovated and achieved short-term results.
NOW WHAT?
The Peripheral Thinking™ skill model expands traditional problem-solving boundaries to include diverse and often unconventional insights. It empowers businesses to preempt disruptions and become the disruption.
Peripheral Thinking™ enhances proactive innovation by broadening strategic planning to incorporate external influences and existing solutions. You prepare your company to handle a broader range of scenarios more effectively, proactively, and innovatively.
Look…
Something will hit the fan again soon. What it will be is unknown to most people. What’s a business leader to do? Become adaptable.
What’s a Peripheral Thinker™ to do? Consider the three worst things that could happen which are outside your control. Use your Surveying skill to see the bigger picture. Look for alternative paths. Take stock of what you have and how it can be used differently. Apply the insights to innovate now proactively.
A byproduct of this exercise—considering and planning for these three worst things—may allude to the “stuff about to hit the fan.” You may find connections and common patterns while surveying. This activity leads to the ‘Predicting’ skill—interpreting patterns and situations to predict future events and make decisions. Another skill for another newsletter.
A quick side note:
The time you and your team spend gaining perspectives outside your industry is not aimless wandering. It is time invested in gathering valuable content and context… The stuff that builds a fun, healthy, always-growing business.
Right now, you can access nearly everything you need to achieve almost anything you can imagine... when you know where and how to look!
Until next time… I’ll be looking for you in the periphery!
Additional News
For more details and examples of the ‘Surveying’ skill (aka ‘Visioning’), check out the June 2023 Newsletter. There’s a cool video and a story about my Air Force Fighter Pilot friend. https://www.pauldanielsjr.com/newsletter/jun-2023
Archives of all “Break All The Rules” (fka Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter) are available at: https://www.pauldanielsjr.com/newsletter.
How I can help you:
I give audiences & leaders new perspectives and skills to overcome obstacles and build innovative businesses.
1. Keynotes & Workshops
Let’s make your next event your best event. Whether you are hosting an executive retreat for 15 people or international conventions for 15,000, your attendees want a speaker with a thought-provoking, action-inspiring message. My Peripheral Thinking™ message is both.
Let’s connect if you are planning an event or know someone who is.
Speaking samples here→ https://www.pauldanielsjr.com/speaker
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The Peripheral Thinkers™ advisory programs help CEOs, Founders, Business Leaders, and Corporate Executives apply new perspectives to build innovative, disruption-proof businesses.
Programs are designed for your needs and delivered in 1:1, group, and ongoing advisory sessions. Visit https://www.pauldanielsjr.com/contact, select ADVISORY, and I’ll contact you to discuss your options.
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