Narrow-Mindedness Can Hurt Your Business

We all know people who state that there is only one way to do something. They are not open to new ideas and therefore continue to do things the same old way over and over again.

Some traditions are cultural and passed from one generation to another. There are countries, for example, who do not believe that women are as valuable as men. Other cultures limit the number of children that can be born into a family unit because of ideas about restricting population.

There are individuals who have a strong political alliance and would not, under any circumstances, change their political party - even if policies are ineffective or even harmful.

Others are very careful about what they eat and use cultural or personal guidelines to set their diet.

Certain groups outline the educational standards that their people are to meet. Others band together to fight specific propaganda.

There are ethnic groups who have been at war with other ethnic groups for centuries and religious groups who treat other religious groups as their enemy.

When people are narrow-minded it is usually because they have had an idea for a considerable period of time and don't want to let go of it. They might have learned this from a parent or grandparent. They accepted the idea as being the "right" or "only" way to think. Sometimes they may be rewarded with respect for their tenacity and at other times, they might be criticized for not being willing to consider other options.

When you are in business, it is important that you are not narrow-minded. In fact, if you are not open to new and different ideas you will likely be limiting yourself in a number of ways:

1. Stereotyping other people is disrespectful and will limit your client base.

2. Only offering one product or service might sound like a good niche but having multiple streams of income will instead provide more revenue and profit.

3. Doing things the same way over and over again might not be the most efficient. Over time you will be so outdated that you might feel like you are chasing your meat with a bow and arrow or writing your notes with a quill pen. It might be time to buy your supper in a supermarket and document with a computer program.

Usually people who are narrow-minded have never been exposed to different ideas or ways of doing things.

Consider the things that you are doing in your business. Are you ready to open yourself up to new methods and ideas?