As I browse through my lead generation literature, I secretly look for headlines that make me wonder, make me ask a question or even make me a little uncomfortable. I was recently flipping through my copies of the Pittsburgh Business Times craving a cool, new company discovery, but as I leafed through a previous edition of the Pittsburgh teQ (Pittsburgh Tech Council) magazine, the President’s editorial caught my eye.
Audrey Russo (President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council) entitled her letter “Never Get Comfortable”, (all it takes is a good headline to reel you in – and she reeled me in) I couldn’t resist the urge to find out more (every marketers favorite feeling, right?) …to find out why?
In her piece, Russo details the success and brilliance that results when professionals and entrepreneurs put themselves in constant motion. By “constant motion”, I mean they are always actively seeking fresh ideas and changes in the industry to propel themselves and their company forward among the noise. She reminds us that exposing your new business and ideas can be unsettling, but the only way they can grow into something exciting is if we let others shed some light on them.
Yes, we all know that sharing ideas is a good thing. That was not the inspirational part. It was the subtle reminder that being too comfortable can hinder our drive to keep creating and innovating. Our routines are assurance. We like to know what’s coming next. But as good as it feels to be able to predict our days and weeks ahead, that numbing easiness can also be our greatest enemy.
Russo also ties this concept into leadership – leadership is about adjustment, adaptation and personal growth; continuously and in perpetuity. Companies live in constant motion and experience constant, industry and environment tugs of movement that are competing for our attention and using up precious time. Leaders not only understand this concept of inevitable motion, but embrace it.
“It’s the steadfast belief in seeing the vision materialize surrounded by the right people, who have the right skills and attitude to participate in this journey—a confusing and liberating period in the new business process without doubt.”
-Audrey Russo
In a time when trends come and go in the blink of an eye, stagnancy and complacency are only going to assure you that you will be left behind. Are you comfortable with that? I’m not. So maybe that pounding in your chest and sweaty palms is a disturbing feeling for a couple of minutes. But don’t think of it as an unsettling wave of uncertainty. Be a leader. Embrace it. Never get comfortable.
How are you embracing motion in your industry? Keep the conversation going on our Facebook or Twitter
