Did I make the right choice? This question was running on repeat in the back of my mind just minutes into my 260-kilometer journey through a country I was visiting for the first time. Opportunity was knocking, and I was adamant that we would answer the call.
My company has seen tremendous success by looking through the opportunity lens. We take calculated risks and empower our people to serve our customers. I was confident this would be another successful endeavor.
I made the trip specifically to meet a customer critical to our international future. To me, the decision represented several skills leaders have learned to rely on: uncovering opportunity, taking calculated risks, trusting our people, and leading courageously.
I traveled into the country to do just that. Trusted advisors joined me at the beginning of the trip, but I was making this leg of the journey independently.
Finding Opportunity Outside My Comfort Zone
Looking out the window, I realized how far outside my comfort zone I was. I am always cautious when traveling alone as a woman, so I had taken precautions. I carefully selected a driver, verified their identity, and shared my live location with loved ones.
Still, I was in a foreign country and unable to speak the language. A stranger was driving me through road conditions that were poor at best. I was uncomfortable, and I knew it was good for me.
I thought about how stepping outside my comfort zone and taking calculated risks had helped the businesses I’ve had the opportunity to lead thrive. Our current business offered a perfect example. At the time, we were operating at four times our normal customer demand. Revenue was increasing daily with no end in sight.
That growth followed an incredibly difficult period for the business, which made the success even sweeter.
Our recent success came from three simple but profound shifts we made as a team. Other companies can learn from these shifts, too.
First, Look at Everything Through the Opportunity Lens
When I say everything, I mean everything. I’ve always believed in looking for opportunity, but challenges put that belief to the test. In Q4 of 2020, we lost nearly 40% of our revenue overnight. Nearly 40 of our employees saw their projects canceled, postponed, or reassigned internally.
Many companies faced similar challenges during the pandemic. We shared that temporary feeling of uncertainty and defeat. Hopefully, we also share the enduring resilience we rediscovered along the way.
The trip I recently took turned out to be one of the greatest opportunities of the year. More importantly, my team had already learned how to look at something that could have put us out of business and see possibility instead.
We used our opportunity lens. First, we recognized an opportunity to bring fully credentialed and trained staff in-house and launch a new division. We also identified workers displaced from our competitors and companies we had worked with and invited them to join our team.
Perhaps most meaningfully, we supported displaced employees whom we could not place in new positions. We offered free career counseling, resume writing, and interview preparation services.
By viewing the situation through the opportunity lens, we improved our market share. At the same time, we made progress toward living our company’s north star mission.
Next, Take a Calculated Risk
Whether you are a current leader, future leader, or trusted individual contributor, decision-making matters. Your ability to solve problems for customers and stakeholders is a valuable skill that you develop over time.
Calculated risk goes beyond the standard equation of risk equaling probability multiplied by loss. On our team, we start by identifying a market need and creating a decision matrix. Then, we consider short- and long-term customer benefits. Finally, we weigh the company’s investment against potential future profits.
Looking at the problems you can solve for customers can reveal new opportunities. It can also help you develop stronger solutions and make decisions with long-term outcomes in mind.
Last, Bring Your People With You
Ask your people what they see that you do not. You might be surprised by the results. A dear friend once told me that, as CEO, he considers himself the “chief energy officer.” I loved this idea and couldn’t agree more.
As leaders, we can bring excitement, innovation, and energy to an organization. However, our people amplify that energy throughout the company. There is tremendous power in developing a vision alongside your team. That applies whether you’re building a company, launching a new initiative, or finding a pathway forward.
Invite your team to look through the opportunity lens and empower them to take calculated risks. In doing so, you tap into their energy, talent, and belief. You may also open yourself and your business to possibilities you would have otherwise missed.
Bring your team with you as you courageously explore the new terrain of business. That terrain might begin in your home office. Or it might take you 260 kilometers into a beautiful coastal village you never knew existed.
