Strategic planning, a vision for the future and consensus: all are key for success, yet not always easy to achieve. Even with the best and most coordinated will in the world, there is always the unexpected!
But while there will always be the unexpected and not much we can do to plan for it, if we want success, knowing not only what we want but also deciding the steps to take to get there are hugely important. Aligning ourselves with people with the same goals is also hugely helpful.
Who knows?
In deciding what steps we are going to take, however, we need to know what options are available to us, what those options entail and how those various components might fit together. The better informed the decision and the more planned the route, the greater the likelihood of success.
I’ve written many a time about how there are still many opportunities even during tough economic times. However, while there are opportunities out there, they are harder to reach, and there are fewer options should things go wrong. In such circumstances, thoroughly carrying out your research prior to acting is more important than ever.
We revise and print our directory issue every year, and of course, each year’s issue remains online until the next year’s is published. While directories may not be the most riveting of reads, they are highly useful, particularly when times are challenging or planned investments are high, be it from a financial or a risk point of view. Finding the piece of equipment or service that most meets your needs rather than what simply does the job, is not only going to make life easier, but might just make the difference between success and failure.
If you don’t know where you are…
If you don’t know where you are, how can you possibly know where you are going? It is always worth revising the systems and processes that you do employ in your business. Are there more efficient ways of working? Are there more cost effective solutions? Could various stages of processes be eliminated and replaced with a single, different approach? How are your competitors operating?
A couple of years ago, someone asked me to picture a windowsill with dead flies on it and asked the question of how they got there. I wasn’t so very quick, I’m afraid, in reaching the required answer! By repeatedly flying into the glass, rather than looking for an proper route out of the house, they had died.
You may well have heard the fly story before, but it makes a good point and one that is worth reminding ourselves of every so often. To keep doing the same thing, regardless of changed circumstances, may not be the best option.
A little bit of reflection is a more than worthwhile exercise. And if you need a little help to reconsider the various aspects of your business, then the following pages should be of help.
