What are the top priorities in your business? If you don’t know what they are, then are you certain that you’re working toward them? These are the things that can boost your bottom line.
One of my nieces once illustrated this point in an amusing fashion. My brother and his family were visiting me from overseas. At the time, my niece was three years old.
Her trip to America was very exciting but upon arrival, the most important thing for the family was to get a good night sleep. That can be a challenge when you’ve crossed several time zones.
It’s not easy to explain to a young child that the body’s rhythms need to adjust to the new time zone and it’s important to rest as long as you can. So instead, my brother made a simple request. He told his daughter that they would not wake up until it was light outside.
Several hours passed and my jet lagged niece decided to pull back the curtain and see what it was like outside. She then ran to my brother, telling him it was time to get up.
My brother asked, “Is it light outside?”
My niece replied, “It’s kind of light.”
Deciding that this needed further investigation, my brother pulled back the curtain and looked out the window. He laughed at what he saw. It was still nighttime but the parking lot was somewhat illuminated by street lights.
My niece was correct that it was light outside but it wasn’t the right type of light.
In your business, are people crystal clear on their goals? “Sell more” is a nice mantra but it’s not as good as “Sell 30% more of this product.”
To Clear the Path to increased productivity, you must state and then remind your team of their goals. Otherwise they will start to become blurry. Over time, they’ll be forgotten, until someone (possibly you) will have to explain why business is flat.
Street lights, while useful, are a poor substitute for the sun.
