Prozac for angels

Copyright (c) 2008 Curtis Bingham

Procrastination can be painful. When I recently noticed the flashing light on my car’s dashboard telling me that it was time service my brakes, I thought that perhaps I would get to it tomorrow. Tomorrow turned into next month… and then the most horrible noise could be heard from the rear brakes. When I finally got them repaired, I ended up paying more than four times what I would have if I had taken the car in when I first noticed the warning.

Business leaders often procrastinate establishing or updating their business strategy. Refining strategy is uncomfortable because you have to acknowledge the goals that weren’t met, or the activities that slipped by the wayside. It is sometimes hard to tear yourself away from the tangible, immediate issues at hand. For many busy executives, it seems impossible to take the time away from a hectic schedule filled to overflowing with customer fires, internal crises, delivering for customers, or closing new business. But what are the consequences of NOT stepping off the runaway train and spending time preparing for the future?

1. Customers grow tired of inadequate service and take their business elsewhere. Hopefully they don’t take some of your other customers with them.

2. You are so busy serving existing customers that you don’t have the capacity to bring in new customers, forestalling growth

3. Without new customers, you have no way to compensate for inevitable customer churn

4. Your employees are ineffective at best, and at worst, begin to burn out and leave. How much would it cost you if 50% of your employees were ineffective 10% of the time? For 200 employees, you may be losing a minimum of $1.5M each year!

5. Your competitors pass you by

6. Worst of all, you suffer from burnout.

Postponing the development of strategy may be a short-term strategy in and of itself, but it is ineffective. Unfortunately, the treadmill you’re on keeps running, dragging you with it, until you choose to get off and readjust.

For your business to succeed, you need to allocate time each year to evaluate and update your long-term strategy. In addition, you also need to set aside a smaller amount of time each month to test & refine it. By ensuring that you are regularly evaluating and refining your strategy, you ensure that your customers, competitors, or the market don’t leave you behind.

The time you set aside for strategy must be sacred; otherwise, it gets put off like my brakes until the penalty is much greater than the prevention. December is typically a good time to evaluate your business strategy because many customers are unavailable. Schedule the time and “Just Do It!”