How to Change Your Business Paradigms
By Tom Borg© 2009

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, paradigms are “problem solving systems”. With an outdated or ineffective paradigm, your business could be headed towards extinction. With the right kind of paradigm, your small business will thrive in today’s economy.

So how do we change our business paradigms? Paradigms are common. Every business owner or manager has a set of business paradigms that govern the way they think and act towards the situations they find themselves in. Paradigms are functional. They help us distinguish what is important and what is not.

Have you ever heard the saying “I’ll believe it when I see it?” Well, the paradigm effect reverses the common sense relationship between seeing and believing. Another words, our paradigms can cause us to “only see what we believe,” as a result, we are unable to clearly see the situation as it really is, but only as we perceive it to be. We must remember that there are several different ways we can tackle a business problem. We must be careful not to let our paradigm become “the paradigm” or the only way to do something. Paradigms, too strongly held, can lead to paradigm paralysis, a terminal disease of certainty.

It is best to remain flexible in turbulent times and keep what is called a “paradigm pliancy.“ Try using these action oriented questions to help you change your business paradigms and develop successful solutions to your business problems.

1. What is a business challenge you are currently facing in your business?
2. How could changing your business paradigm or your problem solving approach, help you
create a profitable solution?
3. What new problem solving approach could you try?
3. Who else in your organization needs to be involved?
4. When will you begin tackling this challenge?