5 Things Children Can Teach Us About How to Be in Business
5 Things Children Can Teach Us
Could you be more curious, less serious and embrace an experimenter’s mindset? Is it possible that by injecting some play along with some rest into your day you could make a measurable difference to your work-life harmony as well as your business results?
It takes effort to build and maintain a successful business. You are responsible. You are accountable. You need to use multiple intelligences to create, innovate, analyse, pivot, build relationships and more. You need to give serious attention to business objectives and processes, as well as deal with challenges and issues. Running a business can feel like a very adult undertaking, but is there room to be a little child-like at times? Could imitating a child’s sense of wonder, desire to explore, or willingness to look to others for support actually improve your work-life harmony and your business results?
If you suspect you may be taking things a little too seriously, or if you find you are getting stuck in constant ‘doing’ without the results to show for it, then be inspired by these five things that often come naturally to children.
(1) They Follow their Curiosity
How far can I blow the bubbles? Does my food taste better when it is all mushed together? What happens when I pull the cat’s tail? So much in life is new to children. They have a strong desire to interact with and learn about the people and world around them. A natural curiosity motivates them to do so. As adults it is possible to get stuck in habits or ways of doing things which do not serve us (anymore). We can get a sort of tunnel vision and lose our natural curiosity. For instance, we might have found success or developed expertise in one area and wonder if there’s any benefit to learning more or learning something different. We could be doing things the same as we always have because “that’s the way it is done”. Could you be more curious? Is there an idea or strategy that caught your attention, but you haven’t explored any further? Would it be worthwhile following your curiosity when it comes to a new skill or hobby that interests you? Being curious keeps us open to new ideas and alternative perspectives - both of which add value to life and to business.
(2) They are Willing to Experiment
Children love to try out new skills. They are usually not afraid to get messy. They experiment. They try to make things work without worrying too much about whether or not their actions will be successful. How is your experimenter’s mindset? Do you find yourself playing it a little too safe in your business? If you need to increase your revenue, are you willing to try a different marketing or sales technique, or perhaps experiment with price increases? Is there an offer you dream of launching, but hold off because you are afraid it won’t sell? As an adult, you have learned many ways to see and understand the risks associated with your actions. We want to protect ourselves. This means at times we can be biased towards avoiding the risk rather than accepting the risk and doing the thing anyway. I am not suggesting you ignore your research, inner wisdom or professional advice. However, if you believe you may be too careful or reserved when it comes to your business goals, decisions or actions, consider whether it is time to focus less on what may go wrong and more on the potential benefits of experimenting in some areas of your business. With reflection we can learn from our experiments, no matter the immediate outcome. Experiments open us to possibilities we haven’t yet considered. The next big thing for you or your business could come out of your next ‘failed’ experiment.
(3) They Play and Have Fun
Much of a child’s mental and physical energy is put into having fun. They create and play games. They discover what they enjoy doing and learn about their strengths as well as their limitations. Kids get silly and laugh - a lot! If your work has become no fun at all, look for ways to inject fun into your work and your day. It is possible to be serious about your business and have fun. Play engages our brain differently to the way many of our everyday work activities do and is a great tool to inspire creativity and innovation.
What about the tasks that need to be done, but do not excite us? Have you tried gamifying them? Try racing to see how quickly you can finish filing your receipts or another task you find mundane. Set yourself a reward for completing that essential (but boring) action step you have been procrastinating on. Find more ways to utilise your strengths and to do more of what you enjoy; and make the rest of it as fun as possible. You will thrive and work more effectively if you are enjoying what you are doing. Your business will be more sustainable too.
(4) They Take Breaks (Without Feeling Guilty)
When kids take a nap they don’t feel guilty. When the recess bell rings they run to the playground. I know that many kids will fight going to bed at night, but not because they want to do more chores. If you are not already doing this, build breaks into your daily schedule. Include longer breaks weekly, monthly and yearly. Take these times to do things that fill you up and reenergise your body and mind. Are you clear on your purpose and aware of what energises you physically, mentally and emotionally? Do you like to go camping by the beach, or escape to a cabin by the lake? Perhaps you prefer to reset at a retreat in the mountains or a spa in wine country. Whatever your short break or longer vacation looks like, make sure you include time for your mind to rest and reflect. The space between all the ‘doing’ is where the insights and ideas arise. Giving ourselves the space to breathe and be still helps us to discern what we really want and can support us to make important decisions more effectively and in line with our values. This leads to greater success in life and in business.
(5) They have a Support Team
Small children take it for granted that other people will do a lot for them. They get support to eat, to wash themselves and to get dressed. Even when their developmental stage means they are trying fiercely to be independent, they will quite happily be driven around, carried and served in various ways. How could you ask for help and accept support in your business? Is it practical to get support with operations, customer service or administrative tasks? Are you part of a mastermind or business group where you can openly discuss what is working and not working in your business right now? How could you benefit most from working with a coach in this season of your business?
Support comes in different forms. Look at the support you currently have and reflect on what is working and what is not working. Consider your return on investment. How much money, time or energy does this support save you? How much value does the support add? Do you experience an increase in your wellbeing, your results or your bottom-line? When you have analysed your current support, think about what type of support you would like to stop if necessary, and what you would like to add. If you work alone, setting up a weekly accountability meetup or co-working session with a business friend could help with your focus and achieving your short term goals. Working with a coach could support you to assess whether you are working on the right goals for you right now. A coaching partnership can also help you achieve those goals faster than working alone.
Remember that the best support for you may be quite different to what works for your business friend or someone you follow on social media. Consider your budget, your strengths, and your business vision, values and needs. Be willing to ask for help and open to accepting it. Enjoy a stronger and more sustainable business and life with support that works for you.
Whilst impulsivity, tantrums and multiple daytime naps might not be great for business, taking on a few child-like characteristics and behaviours may be just what you need to move your business forward in awesome and surprising ways. Be curious, experiment and play. Build a support team. Enjoy discovering what works and doesn’t work and remember to create space to simply be. You will create greater work-life harmony and set yourself up for success.
Which child-like characteristic or behaviour will you lean into or apply first?
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