I was having coffee with a new acquaintance when she asked about what makes the difference between companies with a good strategy and those that don’t have one.  It comes down to clarity.  It starts with leadership. They are clear about the purpose of the business. There is an alignment of values, both personal and professional.  That guides who business is conducted with, how people are treated, what the business does, etc.  It shows up in the passion and energy in the people at every level. With clarity, everything becomes simple and people get it.  Unnecessary complexity falls away and the business runs well. Do you have clarity in your business?

You probably see this situation at least every day. I was walking behind a woman when she suddenly slowed down so much, she almost stopped. She had just pulled out her phone and was starting to text someone. She was so focused on the new activity, she didn’t realize she had slowed down. She was oblivious to everything around her, except for the phone.

Things pop up in business every day that create distractions and slow us down. Many times, they take us off our primary goals. Do you know what they are in your business? How do you ensure you don’t slow down?

It is that time of year. New year’s resolutions are made and a wave of people show up at the gym. The influx lasts only a few weeks. Some push too hard, are too sore and don’t come back. Others come back a few times, but don’t make it past the end of the month. It isn’t a priority and eventually it falls off the schedule.

As you think about your business goals, have you made them a priority? Have you thought through what it will take to accomplish them? Have you put the necessary resources in place to accomplish your goals? If not, take time this week to set your business up for success.

I was walking down the street in Southeast Portland as a mail carrier walked by with his bag of mail. He walked down the block, going up and down the stairs to drop mail through the mail slot in each house. Years ago, I lived in Houston and the mail was delivered the same way. In both of these cases, the homes are 80 or so years old and don’t have mailboxes. My current home was part of a development. The mail is delivered in one location for the entire neighborhood, a much more efficient method of delivery for the postal service. At a time where costs are rising, volume of mail is declining, delivery points are increasing and the postal service struggles its budget, the inefficiencies in mail delivery are strikingly obvious when you see them. And, the inefficiencies are not addressed. Do you have any inefficiencies in your business? What is holding you back from addressing them?

It is that time of year again. The steady rain has arrived in the pacific northwest. The sky stays gray for months. When the rain falls, trucks create a mist so encompassing that it is nearly impossible to see anything but a gray wall. The mist seems to reach the sky and becomes one.  But once you get around the trucks, you can see the road, cars and trees that were completely obscured moments before.

At times, there can be items obscuring your view. It may be a project, a customer, personal challenges or other pervasive items that don’t allow you to see what is in front of you. How are you getting around the items that are obscuring your view?

It has been a local draw for 54 years for those driving up and down the interstate. A place to stop and get a bite, and stretch your legs before continuing the journey. But with major development in the works, the location was about to experience a number of changes. So, the owners decided to sell the location and move on to a new adventure.  It is the end of an era, but also the start of a new one.

Change comes in a number of ways. Sometimes it is welcome, other times it is forced on us. How are you keeping an eye out to adjust directions when it is the right time for you?