The Art of Thinking Big

Go Big or Go Home has been my mantra since my early years as a paperboy trying to expand my route with additional readers. The other delivery boys had odd “doglegs’ as part of their route layout which took extra time to go out and back. My route also included a time-consuming extension. I had purchased my route from a older neighborhood friend for one dollar per customer for a total of 95 dollars and immediately began increase the number of readers within my route. A much quicker way was to purchase customers from adjacent routes, connecting all those trouble extensions to my route. This worked will till my total hit 145 plus the 20 extra papers I would sell from the corner prior to beginning delivery. The manager of the paper boys decided my route was too big to handle. I countered by offering to hire my brother as a helper which satisfied his requirements and a gentlemen’s agreement to only add customers from within my route. The task was clearly laid out. How to increase revenue from our 145 existing customers. We put our two heads together to think big. Let’s expand our services to include landscaping, snow removal, interior painting and as our skillset increased along with our wallets, handyman repairs.

Building hot rods was a thing among the older guys in the neighborhood and they taught us younger underage to drive so when it came time to get a legal license, we had already purchased cars with our well-earned paper route money. Thinking BIG paid us well or so our growing minds thought we knew big thinking from the rest of our peers.

Many of my friends, business associates and follow entrepreneurs would say I am an opportunist, As one who is always on the lookout to find ways to help others become successful, this is image is taken as a complement. My entrepreneurial/business adventure has revealed many opportunities to think big. In my early years it evolved around the elementary thinking of providing parts to Original Equipment Manufacturers(OEMs), spare parts to end users and stand components to integrators vs. supplying large capital equipment to end users. BIG thinking in my start up days meant, obtain orders for the big stuff and you would automatically get the small components. There is some truth to this strategy, although easier said than done.

An observation of salespeople from my younger days, there is a tendency to supply and sell products and services one is comfortable with presenting to customers. One’s product comfort zone. Without getting into the whole overused comfort zone discussion, my observation was only slightly true, the bigger truth, sales, closing a deal is additive. Yes, I am addicted to the feeling, the dopamine rush one gets from cementing a deal. Big or small! Addictions can be negative and positive at the same time. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIeWgTgrfY0) Selling components provided more deals to close with more deal closing highs.

There are two traps here, first, one can get stuck in the components zone andsecondly due to the longer sales cycle of capital equipment (maintenance dollars vs. capital dollars) one can become depressed, chasing the deal closing high, filling in the gaps with nasty negative habits leading to one’s demise on several fronts. Either way the end result most often ends ugly. The big equipment vs. component parts thinking has been proven successful by both camps. It’s all in how each can negotiate the ever-changing marketplace and the ability to choose good habits. Other concerns; the components guys lose sight of the big picture and the capital equipment guys miss opportunities to build trust with new customers from a lack of vision on how a small order released to your company is really a test run to judge your ability to walk the talk and actually meet delivery with a quality product providing benefits to the customer.

Thinking BIG works best when one is as excited over a $35 order as $3500 order. So from a business strategy its best to offer an optimized product and service mix designed to allow a quick path to build trusting relationships while simultaneously providing the resources to go “big game hunting”. A funny story about chasing the big stuff; I quoted the same big equipment to the same company, production engineering dept. for ten years to several different engineers, many left out of frustration, when the project was final released, lost it to the competition. This just made me laugh! It’s just the way it goes.

Back to the subject, my thinking big mindset has adapted over the years from small margin vs. big margin equipment to; How big is the market for my products and services? What are the resources required to meet the demands of an ever-changing marketplace. What will my business need to grow over the next 5-10-15 years? And we need to start putting those plans in place today. Otherwise, we will miss the BIG picture.

Everyone knows there will be many changes, it’s the ever-accelerating rate of change one must contend with when planning for the future. Technology and innovation can render your whole operation obsolete in a heartbeat, believe his last words were, when did this technology hit the market and how come I missed it. What’s a body to do? The answer always seems to be the same, adapt or die. Develop the ability to quickly adapt, improvise and overcome. Never before application of new technology, new innovative approaches to business and dusting off good ideas whose time has come. New materials requiring equipment upgrades and new mythologies to fasten and assemble just about everything.

Wow, we are thinking BIG now or is my business/entrepreneurial journey more accurately

described as one long life learning mind expansion exercise? Let’s think about something really big, the universe. The ever-expanding universe, which reminds me of the often-quoted movie line from Buzz Lightyear, “to infinity and beyond”. There is always something beyond our current mindset, something bigger, faster, stronger with more resources. This is good news! More challenges creating more opportunities to shine, generate revenue from marketplaces you are fortunate to have lived this long to address.

Once you realize your role in the scheme of things, truly big thinkers have come to the point where they know it’s all about impact. The smallest action can and must often will have a tremendous impact on the biggest thing known to mankind. The Universe. Now we really thinking big! The ability to influence ever expanding space and time. By now many of you are thinking this may be the ramblings of a deranged, entrepreneur/sales guy or one confused individual. Probably a little of both.

Hear me out, anything is possible, as human beings we have tendency to think small and increment our way to success. I get it, one must crawl before they walk. The reality is one can divide their business or entrepreneurial journey into so many small, baby steps you run out of money or become obsolete. At some point, a big leap is required. When I work with startups or a struggling business it’s my biggest challenge to get all involved to see the big picture and think big. Case in point, several years ago I was working a company making wooden ladders, they made the best wooden ladders. New materials had rendered their products obsolete and now they are in trouble. They hired me to make improvements to continue to be the best wooden ladder manufacture. I lasted one day. When I asked them what their real business involved, their answer was ladders. I replied how about considering the big picture? Your real business is raising people to new heights and make plans to convert operations to make industrial lift platforms, employ new modern materials, fiberglass and start thinking big about how to lift people safely to new heights. Change was too hard for them and now they are gone.

Back to considering your role in the big picture and how your actions regardless of their size can impact the world. Anything is possible to those with an open mind. Define your role, list your strengths and weakness. Focus on your strengths forget about try to improve your weakness (unless you are in the gym) How can I apply my strengths in such a way to make an impact, help someone overcome a challenge etc. This is thinking big, keeping an open mind and having a mindset to make an impact everyday and observe how the big picture unfolds. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Some BIG thinking truths;

1) Anything is possible to those with an open mind

2) Careful what you wish for you just might get it.

3) In order to think big one must consider and accept the fact even smallest action can have a huge impact in the big scheme of things. Especially over time.

4) Answer this question with brutal honesty; What is my role in the universe and how do my actions make a positive impact regardless of size. Trust me everyone has the ability to make positive impactful actions. Need some help? There are many willing to help you think bigger and bigger.

5) My personal mind expansion truth with respect to the above; It is extremely difficult to become successful without helping others become an even bigger success. This is my role in the world and the universe. Helping others become successful. It’s never ending, always expanding and a great way to go through life. It’s taken the better part of my life for a young man who thought he was a big thinker to truly learn the art of thinking big.

GO BIG or GO HOME!