Open Growth. What is that and why would I want to have something called an “Open Growth Meeting”? The reality is that I can’t really tell you why you would want to have something called and “Open Growth Meeting”, all I can say is that every once in a while I sit around to try and relax and something hits me that I like. In this case while I am watching the Falcons vs Saints game and know the Bucs are getting crushed by the Steelers the idea of learning more about what my associates aspirations are came to my mind.
Having open interviews is one thing when it comes to growing your small business and taking it from a single store operation to a multiple location based operation like our small business, Extreme Tan and Smoothies is.
Open Growth for Future Explosion
I want to do something different. I don’t want to be locked in to my companies boundaries and the things that I can think of or the things that only people in the home office can think of. I want to explore and I want Extreme Tan and Smoothies to be different and offer it’s associates opportunities that they wouldn’t typically see in any other small business environment. The only way to offer that growth and that explosion is to allow your associates to be different then everyone else in the mix.
Being different is hard… tough…. BRUTAL. Being different means overcoming everyone else’s thoughts and the normalcy that surrounds most of us on a daily basis. I would have to say that Ken W, Ken M., Wayne. H and Joe R. from Home Depot probably opened my eyes to that more then anyone else I’ve ever had the chance to work with. Wow, do I appreciate that to this very day.
Sure we do the Town Hall thing and open interviews but I want to take it somewhere else. Ask questions that potentially open doors, yet offer no guarantee. Nothing like a Town Hall or an Open Interview. Instead, let’s sit down with any associate that wants to show up to the Extreme Tan and Smoothies Home Office and ask them questions about things we do not do, a position that does not exist, something that is NOT already there and let’s see what the answers are.
After we have our answers we can take a look at them and see what we have to grow on. I’m sure there are plenty of other small business’s that already exercise the chance to learn in big ways from their associates, maybe I’m behind the 8-ball with this “Open Growth” meeting thing, but I would be willing to say that we will see some great results if we give it a shot. At the very least if only 1 good great idea comes out of an Open Growth meeting in an entire year’s time it would still be worth it in the end.
I’ll let you all know how it goes once we do it. Until then leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on doing Open Growth meetings.
Related Posts
It’s that time of the week again and this week I want to know what you think about the government’s thoughts on small business! [...]
It’s Monday and a brand new week, let’s see what you’ve been missing over the weekend with the Business Blitz here at Extreme John! [...]
It’s that time of the morning again, time to hit the Business Blitz here at Extreme John! Today I’ll cover a number of small [...]
We’ve made it mid-week again and it’s time to check out the Business Blitz here at Extreme John! Today I’ll cover a number of [...]
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: ShotOfCoffee
Sounds like a really good idea. Not enough companies do that, but who knows better about what’s going on than the employees on the front line.
Mike @DailyShotOfCoffee´s last [type] ..Are You A Caffiend Here’s A Shirt To Add To Your Collection
Twitter: extremejohn
Why thank you Mike. Welcome back.
Feedback is always great.