When you’re looking for new ideas to help you improve your business, look at a similar non-competing business. Create a reciprocal arrangement where you can learn and exchange best practices. Compare business practices, processes and operating procedures. Some of my own clients in different industries have done this successfully.
Physically visit a non-competing business or firm that’s similar to yours to learn what works and what doesn’t for them. See the business in action. Share your observations and ideas.
Or invite executives from a non-competing business to visit your office to compare notes. They’ll assess your business from a different perspective.
You learn from them. They learn from you. The experience is mutually beneficial.
Maybe you’ll identify a process that’s taking five steps when it could really be done in just two steps. Maybe you’ll stop having weekly meetings if they’ve been unproductive.
Some organizations have discontinued traditional performance review processes because they're not effective. Other businesses are changing paper shuffling processes to online processes to be more efficient.
You never know what business improvement ideas you might find until you step outside of your own business temporarily.