We have all experienced the addictive adrenalin rush that comes with action in sports, at work, or perhaps at home. How nice to throw caution to the winds and be carried away by immediate gratification. Pursuit of quick fulfillment spills into your business practices and is represented by financial fear and knee jerk reaction to change in the market place. How often do you feel decisions are making you instead of you making decisions? Sometimes it may feel that you are the actor in and not the director of your own play.
Planning
Actors have to prepare for their upcoming roles and make personal changes to add their stamp in creation of an award winning performance. Small business owners are no different, except the award is loyal customers, growth, and financial gain. The difficulty arises in knowing how to become the best at your craft and in your industry. What will you base your winning performance on?
Strategy or Plan? That is the Question
The first step is building a strategic plan for change. Notice I did not say strategy or plan by themselves. The difference is in execution. Plans are based on a set of specific resources to perform expected actions whereas strategic designs incorporate the best resources and consider their use in other projects at the same time. In effect, doing more with less. Great examples include scripts for phone use, auto responders for e-mails, technology in account management, targeting specific markets, and empowering employees to drive change.
Application
As the year progresses, ups and downs of last year begin to blur and lose their influence over your action. Take the time to review, document, and build these experiences into your strategies for the rest of this year rather than letting them slip into forgotten oblivion. Adopt the use of my Seven Step Method to help lay the foundation. It will focus your attention on creating strategy rather than ineffective plans. If nothing else, begin to make your decisions as a director and not a struggling supporting actor.
