By: Faizan Haq, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Your Bliss Magazine  

President & CEO, Manage Your Business LLC

Just like life, nothing remains static in business. If you don’t keep up with what is going on in the market, either you are left behind or become irrelevant very quickly. When organizing our time and resources, we must designate a certain percentage to research and development, preparing for the change that is inevitably coming our way. There are many ways to prepare for it; reading articles and books, watching relevant videos on YouTube, attending seminars, or seeking guidance from experts and hired professionals.

Before we decide on mode of learning more or researching deeper, we must take into consideration the nature of the business that we are in. Relevant research and development with linages for future growth of businesses is vital for making the effort, energy, and resources count for preparing for the future growth of your business. I divide this effort into three parts, and it has rewarded me in many ways.

1; Open mindedness and general exposure.

Keeping open mind about all possibilities is essential to be a successful entrepreneur or businessperson. Entertain possibilities for your own business, when other people are passionately making a case for their ideas. Even the most distant and remote business ideas will trigger you, thinking about new ways of doing your own work, or advancing in your business venture. It necessarily does not mean to waste time in idle conversations or occupying yourself with mundane company. What it means is to intently listen to intelligent people, talking about professional advancement or entrepreneurial experiences. Keep your mind’s learning mode on at all times.

2; Diving deeper and coordinating solutions.

When you are faced with problems, challenges or issues that hamper your personal or business growth, you must dig deeper to understand the nature of the problem. People make mistake of throwing money or randomly appointing people to resolve a problem or issue. One must seek breaches in systems or workflows, or responsibility distribution, that is causing the problem. All challenges or issues cannot be overcome just by introducing technology or incentivizing performance. Solutions must be coordinated by understanding the deep breakdown of problems or issues.

3; Specific research for specific purposes.

If there is a specific challenge that is facing an individual or the organization, then it is vital that only that particular area of focus must remain a priority. Specific purposes often have linkages to a bigger system or a larger network of workflow. You can easily get lost in trying to untangle the strings of adjacent systems. At that time, the singular focus on a specific purpose pays off. This focus at time costs unintended consequences or unpleasant outcomes. In that case, pros and cons of the decision can be evaluated. However, our specific purpose cannot be compromised.