Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Do you have the curiosity to explore the unknown?

Staying in your comfort zone is dangerous when it comes to business, mainly because what works today can easily fall flat tomorrow

4Ps Business & Marketing, in a strategic alliance with the New York Times Service, presents a column by howard Schultz, Chairman, President and CEO of Starbucks corporation

Inspiration and fresh ideas can come from unexpected places. The trick is having the curiosity to explore the unknown.

It’s easy to forget this. Rather than veering off into unfamiliar territory, many people stick in their own lanes because it feels safe. But staying in your comfort zone is dangerous when it comes to business, mainly because what works today can easily fall flat tomorrow. There is always something to learn, especially with consumer behaviour changing at light speed, spurred on, in part, by constantly developing technologies.

I recently joined the board of directors for Groupon, the daily-deal consumer website, for just that reason. At 58, I believe I can glean a great deal from a younger generation of Internet entrepreneurs, particularly about the seismic shifts taking place in consumer habits.

Leaving one’s base of expertise is not easy. It requires vulnerability and the willingness to admit what you do not know. But there are comfortable ways to start. Read articles about companies – or biographies about people – that you may not be inclined to follow. Sit next to a stranger at a dinner party or meeting. Initiate conversations, always listening more than you talk. Walk down streets you routinely pass and, when traveling, venture out instead of sitting in the hotel. Above all, be open to the unexpected.

I have always tried to do these things myself, which is why, on a business trip to Italy in the early 1980s, I was meandering the streets of Milan when I serendipitously discovered the espresso bars that served as inspiration for growing Starbucks. Now, when I visit cities around the world, I leave unscheduled time to pop into other coffee shops as well as stores that have nothing to do with coffee.

A few years ago, I walked into a small, unassuming shop located on one of Milan’s most fashionable streets. The Coltelleria G. Lorenzi sold a mind-boggling assortment of handcrafted knives, razors and cutlery.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
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