I am sure you have read a few opinions on what to do for this year. In our 9th year of helping over 350 companies grow, here is our take:
* Embrace change and face it head on – no one can predict the future and the only constant is change so welcome it, invite and then RE-INVENT! You can’t run from it so you would be best to meet this head on, Domino's Pizza did – check it out: http://ow.ly/SoP0 . This is where true innovation happens.
* Get flexible and listen more – you have to be willing to put everything on the table in order to win in 2010. Whether it’s changing your ingredients in a recipe you have used for 15+ years (Domino's) or changing a planning process in the company from a 12 month cycle to a 90-day – DO IT! The market will tell you what to do if you just listen. In these times of change your response and response time is EVERYTHING!
* Execute-- no excuse - talk is cheap as the old saying goes. In the next decade this will be especially true. Do what you say… and only say what you mean. People are fed up with fakes… look for this to only intensify. Companies and people who actually follow-up with what they say they are going to do will thrive in the coming decade. If you can’t plan, organize, coordinate and execute against a plan – you have nothing. Good intentions and ideas are unfortunately a dime a dozen.
* Tell your story – statistics show that one of the most effective ways to commit something to memory is with a story. If your clients and the market place know your story, it will stick with them, be easy to carry and be a BIG PAYOFF.
* GIVE until your face falls off – ok, I am stealing this from Gary Vaynerchuk’s book, Crush It. But it is so true. You need to give, give, and give with no expectation of reciprocation. Authenticity rules in 2010.
* Push harder, faster and stronger – 2010 is going to be a great year but out-working the competition is key. Smart growth could happen just by having the willingness to make that extra call, attend that extra meeting or fill in the blank. If you have to, fight, kick, claw and scratch your way to growth – then do it!
* Be the best - do one thing really well and drop everything else. They say to become the best at something it takes repetition. You can never get there by doing 4,000 things 7 times. You need to do 7 things (or one) 4,000 times to become a true master.
Results will always vary, just remember:
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
- Winston Churchill
