Of course it wasn’t built in a day.
But, do we really take notice of what we know?

There is no one thing that will build your business overnight.
No one thing that will rescue it.
No one thing that will destroy it.

A business needs to build slowly, solidly and surely.
Just like an earthquake, a well built business will stand against a shock.
A weak ill conceived business will quickly fall.

Each working day is like one little building block.
Every day you add one, set it firmly, clean it up and let it set.

It never looks like much until you look back.
It takes patience, discipline and a desire for perfection.

If you want a business just like Rome.
Build slowly
Build well
Build to last.

It’s easy to be busy.
Not so easy to be productive.
To be effective, you must be productive.
Being busy won’t do.

Are you busy?
Are you productive?

If the answer is 1, change course.
If it’s 2, keep going.

On a country trip I realised the speed and passage of time.
I also realised the death of a product and the need for constant innovation, invention and initiative.

A rural phone box had died.
A sad carcass was all that remained in the pretty little village.
The brand name had faded far from its former glory and the death was painfully slow.

For me, it’s not long ago that these ultra modern, sleek, shiny steel boxes were new, brand new.
Today, mobiles, modems and everything else have killed what was once new.

Survival comes by constantly reinventing, moving and trying.
Death, just like a firework, will be yours if you don’t reinvent the minute your product is successful.

There is no point in working for insatiable people.
They cannot have enough.
Your customers and clients are responsible for my deciding if I will commission you.
Dump your dud clients and recruit the best.
When you have done that, something magical happens, the best come to you.
(assuming you deliver and exceed your initial promise)

Spring this year was delayed due to bad weather.
Business has been delayed due to a recession.
That means ‘starting again’.
Or does it?
If not, should you?

Every business needs a boost, intervention or refreshing.
Ours does, yours too.
The old road has run out.

Before you refresh, reinvent or refine, ask yourself these 10 questions;

(1) Who are you trying to satisfy?
(2) Are you trying to make money or make a difference?
(3) What will your impact be?
(4) Do you want a journey or a finish point?
(5) Will you go out to the market or hope they will come to you?
(6) Will you wait for things to change or change them?
(7) Will you lead or follow?
(8) Will you deliver or add value?
(9) Will you be more of the same or different?
(10) Will you put all the precious recession lessons into practice or into denial?

The choice is yours.

Yes we should always expect the unexpected.
It prepares us for those little surprises that we have no control over.

But, if you know the unexpected is coming shouldn’t you act?

Imagine sitting in a big open field.
You know there is a sniper.
He may even have you in his sights.
You may just be in mortal danger.

What would you do?

You could run for cover.
You could counter attack.
Or, you could get shot.

If you were shot perhaps your tombstone might read;

“It was not unexpected.”

If the unexpected is expected.
Don’t hesitate.
Do something.

It’s easy to fit in.
But it gets you nowhere.
You become one of the crowd.

Standing out is not so easy.
It gets you somewhere.
You stand out from the crowd.

The old saying is;

“50% of my advertising works. Problem is, I don’t know which half.”

When money is tight that’s not good enough.
Worse still are wordsmiths who play the “I provide the 50% that doesn’t work” bit.

When it doesn’t work they cry jargon;

“It’s awareness.”
“It’s brand recognition.”
“It’s positioning.”

Hmmmmm, not much good looking for next year’s budget.

Create a new role in your company.
Go on, try it.

Their new title?

‘Director Of Results.’

Next time the salesman comes knocking try this;

“Welcome Johnny, please can I introduce our Director of Results before we start?”

Have you ever heard someone tediously try to save a dying business?
Difficult for them.
Difficult for you.

Every business changes.
It’s not change, it’s the way of the world.

Sometimes a strategy fails, sometimes not.
Regardless, you need to have a ‘right’ to create a strategy.
You need to know what you are doing.

Nothing is more dangerous than a quick turn into a business you don’t know.

Imagining the easy option is a fool’s paradise.

Before someone failing shouts “I know”, ask them this?

“Can they explain in a convincing way why they have the ability to pull it off?”

Strategy is flung around like a big damp cleaning cloth.
It covers everything but how we are not too sure.

In conversation with my Dad (who knows a thing or two about strategy) I found myself thinking ‘planning’.
It followed a remarkable conversation with Paul Halpin, a college day pal and a huge success.

You see, planning is all very well – good, if not great.
Planning often starts with strategy and that follows vision.

I felt the chill wind of an unplugged gap.
Something was missing.
One word described it.
Analysis.

Before you dream (vision).
Before you plan (strategy).
Look at the facts (data).
Understand the history (analysis).
Then act (mission).

I guess I’m not the first to discover this.
Who said – “Look before you leap?”