How To Know When It Is Time To Change Course With Tracy Hazzard From The On The Shelf Podcast With Timothy Bush

How does one know when it’s time to change course – to redesign a project, pivot it to another direction, or abandon it altogether? It can be a scary thought because sometimes, changing course can feel like giving up and we have always been conditioned to think that we have to stick to the path. Tracy Hazzard shares some of her thoughts on this together with a panel of fellow industry leaders in this Flash Topic discussion at the On The Shelf Podcast with host, Timothy Bush. To Tracy, much of that decision-making process comes down to determining what the market needs, not what your opinion is. Although it is a given that you have to be passionate about something for you to push through with it, it is also critical to listen to customer’s feedback – in whatever form it may come from – because it is the single most important thing that will guide you in the right direction.

Listen to the podcast here

You’re saying that things are going horribly but you go out, reach out and get some outside influence. All indicators are still a viable project and a good product. It’s just taking some time. That would give that person the confidence to keep going or vice versa. 

I’m going to caveat that. It depends on the perspective. If the perspective is that the consumer or whoever’s going to buy this, even if it’s business to business, wants it and if you hear that that’s the reinforcing messages which are desired in the marketplace, then you keep pushing forward. Three Feet from Gold gives me anxiety. I can’t stand the book and the chapter. I don’t like the other book that’s all about it. It drives me crazy that he never went to get an expert who knew anything about how gold runs in vanes. How to mine gold? He didn’t get an expert. It drives me absolutely insane that he wasted all that time and gave up because of that. I recommend getting an expert’s advice but I also recommend getting that in a place at which you’re getting consumer desire feedback. 

If you’re getting desired feedback that this is wanted, then you should keep pushing through. Sara Blakely went to the story that’s probably magnified from how many she saw, but hundreds of banks and investors and other things. They all turned her down for Spanx, the pantyhose with the feet cut off. That’s what they were at that time. It’s tight, holds you in and squeezes everything. She got turned down but all of them were met. Every woman she talked to you and every person she met on the other side of it said, “I want that. Where can I get it?” She was listening to the right core people to keep going whereas everyone else was telling her no and should quit. It’s what indicators you listen to. If they are consumer desire, then move forward. Move as fast as possible to keep getting that momentum going and keep checking that.

Changing Course: Spend time on going organic to attract your highest-value clients and let the rest run on autopilot so you don’t leave people behind.

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Tracy, one piece of advice and what are you reading

Prove it first and this is always my advice. Prove that the market wants what you have to sell because everything else will be easier. The path will lead its way forward. People will reach their hand out to you and say, “I want you to come and present to me. The consumers want what you have to sell. That’s my top piece of advice and anything that you can do to make that proof clearer, broader and not your opinion is the important thing. Whether it’s data or testimonial feedback, use videos or whatever it takes to make that and make it sizeable too. 

Changing Course: Get an expert’s advice, but it is recommended that you get that in a place at which you’re getting consumer desire feedback. Once you’re getting that feedback, then you should keep pushing through.

I am reading and it’s called ProphetAbility by Tony Bodoh and Betsy Westhafer. Betsy is a good friend of mine. I got to read the preview copy. I’m reading the final copy because there were some new stories. It’s based on this idea that the pharaohs and religions of the world listen to prophets. People who were foretelling innovation and change in the world were a lot of times not listened to. How do we as leaders start listening to our prophets before they leave our company, start a new one and disrupt our entire industry? That’s what the book’s about. It has some great stories of ways in which people listened and didn’t listen. It is less of an entrepreneurial book and much more of a C-Suite style book but it is worth a read. 

Watch the episode here:

On The Shelf
Timothy Bush