We All Need a Handful of “Big Aha” Moments

Building and running a business is a journey.  Along the way there will be pivot points that will push you into new directions, adding dimensions that you might have never considered before.  These pivots can also be called “Big Aha” moments.

Think about the last few years of your journey.  What are the big ideas, or pivotal points, that have caused you to shift and evolve.  It could be a new strategy, a new marketing message, an invention; something that jolted your thinking about your “status quo” and motivated you to make a change.

Sometimes these “Big Aha” moments might happen in strange places.  You could land up sitting next to a stranger on an airplane who gives you a big idea or you might read a random article or blog post.

I used to be a big believer in the power of random interactions to help find those “Big Aha” moments.  But since I joined a Vistage Peer Group about 18 months ago, I now believe that taking the time and discipline to be in a Peer Group will greatly increase your likelihood of these moments.

In a Peer Group you commit to spend time every month with a group of non-competing CEO’s and entrepreneurs to work through your issues and collaborate on different ideas.  It’s time to work “on your business” instead of “in your business”.  And if you let down your guard and listen and contribute some of my greatest “Big Aha” moments have come from these sessions.

Sometimes what someone else thinks is a little thing, can be a transformational thing to you.

In fact, I now spend a lot of my time traveling around the country conducting workshops for various Vistage groups.  And when I walk in the room – I have a goal – to see if I can help a handful of members is the room find a transformational moment in how they think about growing their businesses. 

I encourage every business owner and entrepreneur I meet to consider joining a Peer group of their choice.  The biggest reluctance is the time commitment.  I assure you though, that if you are as successful in taking the randomness out of finding “Big Aha” moments as I have, you will never look back.