By ARNELLE ADCOCK
Business Matters columnist
What got you here won't get you there.

That sentence is the title of a business book that develops the premise that a handful of workplace habits often keep successful people from making the next leap forward in their career.

While the personal application is useful, think about how that thought applies to the growth of your company.

Since you began your business or took over the management of your company, you have experienced successes that have given you a positive feeling about the results and your abilities.  Your self-esteem has gone up and you have developed more confidence in your abilities and your decisions.

Believing in yourself is important. However, doing what you’ve always done will get you what you’ve always had.  Another cliché — doing the same thing in the same way and a expecting different result is the definition of insanity – also comes to mind.

So, how do you continue on the road to success and the growing your business? First, take time to think.  Doing the urgent and immediate will get in the way of recognizing and doing the important.  Take time.  Look around.  Survey what is happening in the world you live in and that your business works in.

Second, continue to ask questions.  What matters now are the questions you asked then to get where you are.  Now that your business has grown or matured, it is important to ask the questions again — and not expect that the answers will be same.  The steps you took to get where you are probably will not be the steps to take you into the next stage of your business growth. 

Asking questions should be the basis of your planning, and planning is a journey — not a destination.

Third, be prepared for what you have worked for.  This may sound strange, but you must grow yourself as you grow your business.  One business guru predicts that he can know what we will be in five years by knowing the people we know, the books we read, and the conferences and workshops we attend. 

Last, hire smart people to take your business into the next stage of development.  Your role as a business owner or CEO is to LEAD; let your team do the work.  They will make you look good.  Most important, however, they will make the business succeed.

Leading a company is like shooting at a moving target.  Your goal is to be good enough and smart enough to know where the target is going.

Arnelle Adcock is a partner and president of Brentwood-based Clover Management Group — a team of seasoned professionals who help business owners.  You can reach her at 615-900-0777, aadcock@clovermg.com, or www.clovermg.com.