I got my first smart phone last month. It has a built in GPS/navigation system with a tiny woman who lives in my phone and gives me turn by turn directions. I call her Myrtle. We’ve bonded.

I’ve noticed that I don’t quite trust Myrtle yet. When I’m leaving my office to go somewhere new, I take a quick peek at Google Maps on my desktop computer and get an idea in my head of where I’m going and what main roads will take me there. Then I trust Myrtle to take care of the details of the small streets once I get in the vicinity of my destination.

Can you say “control freak?”

Last weekend, my best friend and I were headed to an estate sale. True to form, I’d looked at the map on my desktop computer before leaving. I knew where I was headed.

Except that Myrtle had other ideas. As we pulled out of my friend’s neighborhood, and onto the main road, Myrtle told me to “make a right turn on E. Vine Drive.” Now, in my mind, we should be staying on North College Avenue for a few more miles before turning off. But Myrtle said we should turn.

I was going to ignore Myrtle and go my way (Myrtle has a remarkable ability to recalibrate and create a new route when I ignore her gentle urgings), but my friend said, “Let’s just go the way Myrtle is telling us.”

So I turned on Vine. Then Myrtle told me to stay on Vine for a few more miles before turning again. I just knew this could not be right. I knew I should turn left on LeMay. My friend urged me to stay the course, and listen to Myrtle. I said, “I don’t have a half hour to waste if she takes us way out of the way.”

My wise friend suggested it would probably only take us, at best, five minutes out of the way, and that I might learn something. So I decided to let go and give control to Myrtle.

The route in my head would have taken us through this.

Myrtle’s route took us through the scenery at the top of this post. And I don’t think it took us any longer.

My friend was right. I learned something.

Letting go and inviting in outside guidance can bring better results than having a predetermined, rigid plan that you alone formulate.

Start with what you know. Start with your best ideas. Then open yourself up to other possibilities. The world of business today is too complex to ignore the wealth of information that is available to us.

Be open to outside guidance. Input can come from many places. Create your own “board of directors.” These are people you like and respect, who have expertise that is different than your own, and who are open to providing you with information and ideas. They are people you can call or meet with as needed. You can ask questions, and kick around ideas, get a “sanity check.”

Let go of control. And the need to be right. Both important. Both tough. Both will close you off from a world of possibilities.

So here’s a question for you. Where does your need to control things keep you stuck, and limit your business growth and success?

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