In the working world, no man is an island. Doing your own thing in your field is great, and sometimes rare… but what if you’re trying to break into an existing market with innovative plans and ideas? Here’s how being observant of others is just as important as trying to blaze your own trail.
You learn from their missteps
Most of what you learn – whether it’s solving a mathequation or learning to fish – was accompanied by you observing someone else do it first. This also applies to being a professional in any field. Mistakes are bound to happen in business, but they always allow the chance to grow and learn from them. While it’s not impossible to achieve success by focusing solely on your progress, seeing where others have faltered can be a safe way of knowing what doesn’t work.
Figuring out what works
Alongside figuring out what paths to avoid taking, keeping tabs on what’s working in your field can show you what’s potentially a viable path to take. Think of the popular quote: “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Of course, one can invent something unique and relatively new in their field. However, a lot of what we come upwith is a compilation of other things that we’ve seen, heard or experienced. Therefore, paying close attention to the efforts of your contemporaries can’t do you wrong. In doing that, you’ll also be able to identify what works well and what doesn’t.
Making informed decisions
Finally, it is worth noting that not every observation made requires immediate implementation on your part. This is obvious in fields that are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but even the tactics and strategies of your direct competitors may not be the best option for your business.
