How Can Learning From Different Fields Transform Your Business?

Exposure to diverse fields encourages innovative thinking and creative problem-solving.

In business, you’re taught to always look at your direct competitors. The more relevant to your offerings and values, the better. However, you can stand to learn valuable information from fields very different from your own. Researching businesses within your industry is inherently useful for market analysis and inspiration. Stepping out of that comfort zone, though, can lead to unexpected discoveries and opportunities to grow. 

Success comes from learning, and learning effectively involves seeking knowledge from as many sources as you can. Instead of creating a bubble where companies in your field only look to each other for comparison, try to branch out. You may be surprised at how it helps your outlook on the future of your business — and your bottom line. 

Enhanced Innovation

Regardless of industry, innovative ideas are always welcome. They don’t always work out, but they can be transformational when they succeed. In any case, it motivates your team to think outside the box and create. One of the main sources of innovation is new knowledge from external sources. This goes hand-in-hand with another source of novel ideas — a change in perspective. 

Just as you would read books from different authors with different perspectives, you can dip your toes into other industries and see how their products and processes can influence yours. Either you are learning something entirely new from a different industry, or a business or process within that industry inspires you to think differently about your own. Whatever the case, diversifying your knowledge-seeking can give you a leg up on more direct competitors when it comes to trends and innovations in your field.

Increased Efficiency

Taking inspiration from the workflows of other industries can help you improve your own, even if it appears vastly different at the start.

You can even increase your efficiency by learning about another industry’s products or services you could utilize in your day-to-day operations. For example, the technology industry applies to just about every sector. Brushing up on the latest tech applications not only allows you to utilize your current tech at its full potential, but it also introduces you to new applications. For example, businesses can use mobile technology to:

• Facilitate internal communication; 

• Streamline workflows; 

• Enhance warehouse efficiency; 

• Prevent stocking issues by tracking inventory in real time;

• Collect and analyze KPIs. 

If a business doesn’t currently have mobile tech, leadership can learn about the types applicable to their industry and initiate a rollout. This is an example of a gradual integration of knowledge from different industries. You’re taking something you learned from an entirely different entity and applying that to make your business better over time. 

Better Decision-Making

Making decisions is the crux of all business processes. It never hurts to boost your decision-making prowess. This area, in particular, can have you looking in some unexpected places. For example, card games and business don’t have much in common at first glance. However, card games teach you about several concepts that are highly important in the business world such as: 

• Organization;

• Prioritization; 

• Resilience in unpredictable environments; 

• How to earn respect — and not bluff when stakes are high;

• Probability;

• How to read people and their true intentions. 

When making business dealings, these skills all come in handy. And, after all, healthy competition between companies can be thought of as playing a game. While the stakes are much higher, the basic tenets are the same. 

Game theory in business allows professionals to make decisions based on a complex set of interconnected actions taken by other participants. In this case, these participants can be other businesses, stakeholders, or customers. Being able to accurately predict the behavior of these entities lets you make strategic decisions with better outcomes.

What Fields To Take Inspiration From?

As you can see, almost any field can offer some novel information for your business. Technology, psychology, and economics are obvious choices for their practical applications to business. Psychology, much like card gaming, can give you insight into the minds of your customers, stakeholders, and competition to predict their next moves — and how you should respond for the most favorable outcome. Studying economics can help you understand market fluctuations and handle your finances more effectively.

Another field that can inform workplace skills is the military. Learning about military processes can help you and your team with: 

• Adaptability; 

• Dedication;

• Discipline; 

• Risk management;

• Teamwork; 

• The ability to perform under pressure.

Researching how these skills are developed can help you apply them to your workplace in your own actions and the actions of others. 

Consider creating training courses or workshops where you showcase what you have learned by branching out and exploring different avenues. If nothing else, this shows a commitment to bettering the business in any way possible. Your team will likely take notice of your drive and out-of-the-box thinking, boosting morale and inspiring them to continue learning, as well. 

Taking a deep dive into any of these fields — or another one of your choosing — can offer perspectives that you may not have considered before. Your business acumen can be honed in totally new ways that give you an advantage over the competition and drive the success of your business.