Growth Hack: Share Secrets with Competitors

Part of our internal culture is to perpetually improve new learnings and new insights. This is something that many companies pay lip service to, but we have committed to it in a big way.

We often find that our clients and our peers overlook the biggest opportunities to grow because they fear the risks of having open conversations about their work.

Workshopping with Competitors

Here’s what I mean: In addition to a regular cycle of workshops, summits, and consultations with experts across a wide range of industries, we also have a mastermind-style group where we meet with other advisors from around the country to talk about what we’re collectively seeing in the benefits space.

Technically, these advisors are competitors. They aren’t local, but all of us have the capacity to serve clients anywhere in the United States, and we gather (virtually) on a regular basis to share how we are finding success.

When we talk about this process with our clients or with our other partners, the reaction is often skepticism with a touch of outrage. How could it possibly be good business to share your inner workings with a potential competitor?

The answer: Our competitors are most likely to have the valuable insights we need to grow because they are just as motivated as we are. With the market as large as it is, we can safely share knowledge without ever really losing prospects. The rewards of having the top advisors in their fields speaking candidly about their work are far greater than the risks of us giving away a trade secret.

Too often, however, business owners see only the risks involved with pursuing new knowledge and new opportunities to grow. When you fixate this way, you miss the true potential of what you could gain by accepting the risks. You get stuck in a cycle of inaction where you acquire very little new knowledge and therefore miss out on opportunities you might never be aware of.

Finding Growth

Growth requires discomfort and it requires action. That might mean joining a mastermind group. That might mean talking to a new consultant. That might mean trying a new idea proposed by one of your people.

Anything new comes with risks, but at some point, we have to set aside the pain of risk and refocus on the potential of the rewards. That’s how you really grow.