When it comes learning valuable business insights, who to ask?  The answer depends upon whether you are merely seeking validation or gaining deeper understanding.  Consider the potential sources:

• Yourself.  If you already have all the information you need, why bother with anyone else?  When this happens, perspectives and opinions have a way of codifying into hardened beliefs.

• Coworker.  That reliable friend working in the same general situation as you can be a “safe place” to discuss problems or share new ideas. They could also be viewed as an expected source of validation and reassurance.

• Peer.  Someone who has a similar role to yours, but in a different business unit or even company, can serve as a wonderful resource to seek out.  Odds are they’ve experienced similar situations as you, yet in unique ways, so what they learned and did as a result can be incredibly valuable.

• Consultant.  When you don’t know what you don’t know, yet realize you need help figuring out how to move forward, the right consultant can shine the light on your specific situation.  It’s essential to know their credentials and reputation for helping people like you; they truly need to be an expert in their field, not a generalist business person whose claim to fame is that they formerly worked in a business.  And you need to be crystal clear about your expected outcomes.  Be sure that your goals actually align with theirs and choose very, very carefully.

• Client.  If you truly want to know how you’re doing and what your organization most needs to work on, who to ask are your clients!  After all, they chose to do business with you for certain reasons and their experiences, both positive and negative, can guide your actions.  But only if you care enough to truly ask with intention and then listen, understand, adapt and deliver.  A word of caution:  What’s worse than not asking your clients how you’re doing?  Asking them, but then not acknowledging their input or doing anything with what they were willing to share.  If clients trust you, they will open a treasure chest of information to help you improve.  A Dutch client, who eventually became a close friend, once told me:  “What I think, it does not matter.  It is only what my clients think that matters.”

Who to ask depends upon whether you’re open to what you need to hear, or only interested in what you want to hear.  If you’ve noticed, each source above offers progressively more valuable insight as you move down the list.  If you aspire to be exceptional, where should you start?

Tempus Maximize!