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4.1. Overcoming challenges

You cannot take effective action if you don’t know what is in your way. So now is the time to identify barriers to progress and find a way to deal with them.

Takeaways 4.1.

In a nutshell

  • Identify all the barrier to getting things done.

  • Work out how to overcome them.

  • Stand your ground to make progress.

Find and address resistance

In the same way that 'all talk, no action' can result in nothing actually happening, it is essential to identify the barriers that may be standing in your way, keeping you from getting things done. That requires a large dose of pragmatism.

The vital first step is to identify where the resistance is. Once these pain points are recorded and agreed, you can set about starting to overcome them.  This can be difficult. It requires realism and brutal honesty. In other words, you can’t deal with a problem if you won’t admit it exists.

Resistance takes many forms but once those challenges are identified and named, you are halfway there. Here’s a template that can help you start identifying what might hold you back.

VisitBritain/VisitEngland

Illustration of overcoming challenges worksheet

Keep your action plan on hand

Action plans should be living, breathing, dynamic documents; evolving statements that records your regenerative tourism journey.  Use our template to get started and keep it updated.

Make sure to bring your action plan out regularly at team meetings to show the progress being made.  There is no point in typing up huge lists of things to be done if it is going to languish somewhere in a drawer and never happen.