Learn business lessons carefully, not brutally

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There are many idioms we use to explain how we should learn. ‘The wise man learns from those around him’ is a retelling of an ancient Hebrew proverb that absolutely holds stock and wisdom today. ‘Doing things correctly, not easily’ is another. However, there’s also one that seems to last the test of time and has more than enough relevance today – ‘foresight teaches gently, error teaches brutally.’
Of course, this last phrase is absolutely one that most of us know in our hearts, because we’ve experienced both sides of its spectrum before. It’s no great failing in a human being to make mistakes, but sometimes, we wish we made them a little less theatrically.
However, in business, especially a business operating after the intensive year of 2020, making errors and learning brutally is hardly just an alternative. In many instances, it can actually spell the end of your firm for good.
What does this mean in practice? Well, it means that we should focus on learning how to move forward in the best way, making shrewd decisions. Here’s a few tips for achieving that more reliably:
Use professional advice & guidance
Using professional advice is an essential effort, something that can help you brush the cobwebs from your ignorance with care and attention. Jonathan Jay, for instance, manages to help businesses with selling up, entrepreneurs with buying businesses, and all sorts of firms through the acquisitions process. Having an industry veteran on your side in these times of great anxiety can be thoroughly helpful, and this investment is worth its weight in gold.
Read case studies
Just as an author must-read works of literature, a great businessperson should read case studies and understand the histories of the businesses that have preceded them. This can help you become more aware of what expert strategy means, how leadership shows itself, how to weather the storm of a difficult year and what to do when met with bad luck. From successful stories to cautionary tales surrounding business failures, all businesses can better understand their approach by looking to the past and reading similar situations. It may not direct your future action – but it can inform it.
Keep up on business news
Keeping up on business news can help you see case studies as they play out. Sometimes, they might even affect your business, such as when an industry giant fails and leaves a giant opening in the market. A healthy interest in the day to day management of industry developments can help you keep abreast of the information you need to know, information that may one day end up tailoring your positive pursuit going forward. This has to be one of the best and most worthwhile ideas going forward, it provides you with a confidence and a deftness that only being informed can give you. In the long term, this has the most effect.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily learn business lessons carefully – not brutally.