“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are” . This ancient advice may be the timeliest piece of business advice you need in today’s marketplace!

Leslie and I have found a new brunch restaurant in Weaverville we just love, Lev & Lulus. Named for the owner’s dogs, it’s small, smart and tasty. We seem to find ourselves there every weekend. Last Sunday, we walked in but didn’t see our normal server—Instead there was a server who we had only seen once before. He greeted us and I blurted out, “So you are only here occasionally, right?” Without missing a beat, he responded, “Every Sunday!” This stopped Leslie and me in our tracks. Wait, do we only come here on Saturdays??

My perception was that he was only working very part time, but the reality is we rarely eat there on Sundays. We see the world, not as it is, but as we are! 

As I have reflected on that quote and our experience I am reminded how this truth might be making its way into your business on a daily basis. The lens through which you view your business — your assumptions, your fears, your past experiences — shapes every decision you make, every team you build, every customer you attract. Before you can change your results, you have to consider the filter through which you're seeing them.

The most dangerous limitations in business aren’t the market conditions. They may be the owner’s unexamined beliefs about what is possible. 

Walk into a small business and you can almost feel the owner's worldview in the walls. A team that never takes initiative reflects a leader who never trusted them to. A customer base that haggles on every purchase reflects a sales culture rooted in the assumption that people won't pay full price. A business that can't grow often has an owner at the center who, consciously or not, is afraid of what growth requires.

Brew on this: If my business is a reflection of how I see the world, what is it currently reflecting?

On Customers: Owners who see customers as transactional will attract transactional relationships. When you see customers as partners worth investing in, you’ll build actual loyalty—and be paid accordingly. 

On Employees: Believing that “you just kind find good people these days” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This attitude shows up in how you recruit, onboard, delegate….and retain.

On Competition: Owners who see competitors as threats limit their options.  Those who see competition a proof of a healthy market find unlimited possibilities and often find ways to differentiate!

On Money: A scarcity mindset around pricing, investment or compensation often strangles your business. Abundance thinking asks different questions and finds different (and interesting) answers. 

Consider taking a “Perception Audit”. Be deliberate about your assumptions, your beliefs and your mindset about your business. Don’t ask “What do I want to achieve this year”, consider, “What do I actually believe is possible, and why?”

Lack of growth in a business is rarely only a marketing, staffing or cash flow issue. It is often a perception problem starting with the leader. You may have built your business on the foundation of what you thought was possible. It could be that the next version of your business may require that you expand your point of view. 

Here’s Your Challenge—Five Things to Do This Week:

1. Write down your three biggest assumptions about your business right now. Not goals—assumptions. What do you believe is true about your customers, your team, and your market that you have never actually tested? Circle the one that scares you most. That’s where your growth is hiding.

2. Ask someone on your team a question you have never asked before. Try: “What is one thing you think we should be doing differently that I probably don’t see?” Then listen without defending. Their answer is data about your blind spots, not a critique of your effort.

3. Price something higher than feels comfortable. Pick one product, service, or offer and raise the price. Don’t rationalize it down with “our customers won’t pay that.” Test it. You may be surprised how much of your pricing is based on your own discomfort, not actual market resistance.

4. Delegate something you have been holding onto. Identify one task you are still doing because “it’s just easier if I do it myself” and hand it off this week. The real question is not whether they can do it. It’s whether you are willing to let go of the belief that only you can.

5. Have the conversation you have been avoiding. With a team member, a vendor, a customer, or even a business partner. Avoidance is almost always a perception problem—a story you are telling yourself about how it will go. The conversation you keep not having is usually the one your business most needs you to have.

None of these are big asks. But all five of them require you to challenge the filter through which you’ve been running your business. That server at Lev & Lulus showed up every Sunday. I just wasn’t there to see it. The question is—what is showing up in your business every day that you haven’t let yourself see yet?

The next version of your business is waiting on the other side of a belief you haven’t questioned yet.