Stubbornness Can Hurt Your Business

There are many characteristics and perspectives that are very important for starting and building a business. Stubbornness is not one of them!

You see, a person who is stubborn can be unreasonable, unyielding and difficult to deal with. Those around him or her can feel frustrated and helpless, especially if that person is the owner or manager of the business. Customers might chuckle about it while others may view the stubbornness as being foolish or narrow-minded.

At the same time, the stubborn person might actually think that s/he is persistent and persevering viewing both these traits as positive ones. In fact, they might credit these traits as the ones that helped to start the business in the first place.

And if others try to change that person, the stubbornness might even become stronger and more ingrained.

People who are stubborn usually do not like change. They are set in their ways and truly believe that they are right about their position. They might not be open to new ideas and even though they might not admit it, are usually afraid that what they have might be lost if things do not remain the same.

If you are working with someone who is stubborn, there are three things that you can do:

1. Put up with it - Sometimes people stay in difficult situations because they have a loyalty or deep need that is being met in that situation. They learn to ignore their own feelings and find support from others so that they can carry on. You might decide that you will just carry on.

2. Try to make changes - You will need to be extremely creative and cautious if you hope to confront the stubbornness. The most difficult balance will be to show how change can be beneficial while, at the same time, not alienating the person who will be making the decisions. Tread softly!

3. Leave the business - There are times in life when the best thing to do is to let go and move on into a new situation. If you are not the owner or partner, you might not have enough influence to do what you want or feel is necessary. It is best not to compromise your health and well-being as stress over time can be extremely harmful. You might be best to just leave the business behind you.

If a business is going to grow and thrive, it is important that those who are involved are able to be open-minded and willing to consider options that will help to meet the clients' needs in the best way possible. Stubbornness prevents this from happening.