Getting out of your comfort zone

Brands need to expand beyond what they're best at doing

One of the big balancing acts for people and organizations is this: How do you embrace focus and going narrow and deep while also not getting stuck in your comfort zone? Most of us fairly early on in our careers determine we are neither Michelangelo nor Elon Musk. That means making the most of what we have, narrowing in on what we’re best at and, ideally, mastering it. And yet we all know people who never evolved. They seem stuck in a different era. They’re in their comfort zones.

As a reporter, I worried I’d be a commodity to be replaced by someone younger and cheaper. So I tried to evolve. I hated public speaking, but I said yes to every moderating offer. I volunteered to blog when many of my colleagues were hung up on how they were “magazine writers.” I figured out editing, tried podcasting, and recognized video wasn’t a great fit for me. In launching new brands, I got comfortable with having editorial teams focused on completely new areas like fashion, beauty and commerce.

This same dynamic plays out in companies.