Take a pen and paper and sit down and draw a circle. Write down what’s on your mind: a problem, an opportunity, a person, product or service of yours.
From there, list what comes to mind relating to that thing around the circle. As you write, things will come to mind.
Just try it. The act of having your brain move your hand while you think will stimulate thought.
Who knows how far you will get once you start writing out your thoughts? This is Walt Disney’s effort from 1957. Do you think it was worth the effort?
From those ideas you can have other ideas generated in another layer of things in a greater circle. This is a mind map.
You should always avoid feeling trapped. Trapped by your location, people, technology or skills. Your relationships, service providers, debt levels or cash flow.
When you’re calm and focussed you can sit and generate ideas that are options for you.
Some things may come to mind that in hindsight seem obvious!
You need to take yourself out of the caldron of running your business for these ideas to come to mind.
Not sure if your ideas will work? - run them by someone else
Need money to execute? - put some aside until you have the cash or start looking for a line of credit
The idea is mostly complete, but there’s a gap or unsolved problem within it? - do some research to see how others have overcome it
Brainstorm some ways you can better use your time. How can you focus on your strengths, delegate more and leverage your skills?
This exercise is best done when you are calm and you can think clearly. Way before any deadlines or your back is against the wall. However, even if you are in a jam, carving out some time to think clearly about what you could possibly do can help a great deal. In fact, if you are in a rush and your current options all look bad, this is really important to try and do.
Dedicate time to map out your options. No one knows your business better than you, so that’s where to start when you’re looking for solutions.
Do it in advance. The longer your planning horizon, the more options you will have. And the more control you will have of executing it and power to negotiate.
See your situation clearly. Doing this exercise will make it so much more effective when you do go and talk to someone else. They will appreciate that you’ve already put some work in and will feel better about assisting you.
Grab a scrap piece of paper… and write down your options, while you still have time to act on them.
No one likes to feel cornered. You are the only one that can stop you feeling that way. Invest some time so that you can take charge.
