Problems are simply opportunities in disguise

Most of us run our businesses on a day to day basis, dealing with customer needs and solving problems as they arise. As our business changes, as our custmer needs change, "problems" arise. Often, as business owners, the need to deal with these "problems" consumes much of our day. These "problems" are simply flags that tell us something is not working as it should. We cannot afford this to be normal operations.

When we are up to your neck in alligators, it is difficult to remember that we are there to drain the swamp. But as a business owner, that is what we must do.

The flags are telling us that something is not working properly. By understanding the source of the problems, we have the opportunity, not only to fix the problem, but to prevent it, thereby saving us time in the future. If we go further and understand the source of the problem, we may identify that there is a new need from our customers that we are not satisfying. This is the real opportunity. By satisfying this new need, we may be able to improve our relationship with our customers, because we are "listening".

Our business is not static. It is constantly changing. Our customers needs are changing. Our business processes must evolve along with those needs.

Do you have a business problem?

Running a business is an ongoing challenge. There is constant change in technology, in the structure of communities, in customer requirements. New problems crop up all the time.

I see stress in people as these new problems come up. You can no longer solve the problems in the same way you did last year. You come up over the hill of solving one problem and think that you can relax, but you can't. Another problem is there waiting for you.

You can approach it in two ways:

• Continue to think of it as a problem, and continue to get stressed by the problems.
• Look at it as an opportunity. Every problem is an opportunity in disguise. Every problem creates the opportunity to learn, to solve a problem in a better way, so thata it doesn't come up again.

Opportunities create excitement and interest. Wouldn't you rather go around being excited about opportunities, excited about learning new things, meeting new people, identifying even more opportunities?

The difference between problems and opportunities is attitude. What affects your attitude is your ability to focus. If you don't have a goal and focus on achieving that goal, every problem is an independent issue and doesn't really mean anything to you, other than being a problem.

If you have a goal and you know what the problem is stopping you from achieving, then it is no longer a problem. Overcoming it is an opportunity to reach your goal.