We finished another best year ever at Global Chamber® with growth AND a wave of value delivered to our members that we felt through year-end feedback including testimonials HERE. Thank you, thank you!
At Global Chamber® we are committed every day to provide warm introductions to members for new clients in their global growth. That depends on members being open to help - a strength, not a weakness. In this post I encourage all members to have the strength, courage and emotional intelligence to ask for help. Always reach out. No harm, no foul.
Why am I showing two sneakers to make the point? There's a quite literally painful lesson that relates to the key global business issue of asking for help. Read on.
Would you believe that both shoes shown here are left-footed, size 12? Do you see a difference?
The one on the left is the style of my size 12 sneaker from the last 3 years, made by New Balance. With Covid I delayed a hip replacement surgery and along the way assumed that I had the best sneaker for my feet, but foot pain especially after the surgery through therapy was pretty bad, and I made some wrong assumptions without asking for help from the right people.
The shoe on the right is my new size 12 sneaker from Nike, noticeably larger - and causing no pain when I wear it. Last week I stopped by Dick's Sporting Goods with my N95 mask to measure my feet and get help with the best shoes for me. It worked! Thank you Dick's and Nike!
The smaller New Balance size 12's were too small for my feet, and the arch support was not effective, causing pain in my feet and legs. The larger Nike size 12's are 'just right', and they feel AMAZING.
It reminded me of what we see all the time in business. Any of us can get lulled into believing that the current reality is what it is, unchangeable, as we wrestle with alligators and other business issues. But sometimes reaching out to the right expert for help changes everything in a good way.
Many of us have been taught that asking for help shows weakness, but that's not true. I appreciate this as a weakness for me, and so I see it in others from time to time ;-)
Over 90% of exporters have glaring holes in their international activities, and don't ask for help. Ouch! We posted on that earlier here. Hey... who am I to judge... I wore the wrong sized shoes for 3 years!! We just want folks not to have pain - in their feet OR in their business.
The opportunity is there... with 85% of new business in the next 5 years happening outside the US. Yet less than 1 of 100 US companies exports. So, so much opportunity!
In 2022, be an extraordinary global leader and ask for help. It's an art very much needed in challenging and amazing times like today. Would you remind me of this occasionally, too?
Be global and UNSTOPPABLE!
Doug Bruhnke - founder and CEO of Global Chamber®
Global Chamber® is a unique, dynamic, collaborating and fast-growing chamber of commerce dedicated to growing member businesses anywhere, a 'global tribe' of trusted CEOs, executives, and top leaders in 525 metro regions around the world, located everywhere. We proactively help member organizations to export, import, invest and grow globally with direct assistance through warm introductions that generate clients, partners, projects and reliable resources. Across 525 chapters we deliver over 500 events per year to further connect members to prospective clients and leaders that support growth and success, and reduce risk and costly mistakes. Be global and UNSTOPPABLE! Global Chamber® is a registered trademark of Global Chamber, LLC since 2014.
Originally published at https://www.globalchamber.org/blog/2022/01/04/global-chamber/the-art-of-asking-for-help/
