February 2, 2004

In this issue:

IDEA: Perfection of Means?

"Perfection of means and confusion of goals seem—in my opinion—to characterize our age." — Albert Einstein

There she goes, tossing around quotes again. Wait, gentle reader! Let me explain why this matters to you!

Imagine for a moment that, when he said "perfection of means," Einstein was referring to your sales and marketing system. Don't have one? Of course you do! How do you market your company now?

Maybe you have a marketing dynamo in the office who cranks out fancy print ads week after week, while writing terrific proposals and keeping your website flawlessly up-to-date with all the latest company news.

Or maybe you have 5 sales guys (or gals!) beating the street day in and day out, flushing out new customers and keeping the current ones fat and happy.

Or maybe you just have a really good estimator, who pokes his nose out of his office only long enough to attend the occasional pre-bid meeting.

Whatever it is, I'll bet you're really good at it. Maybe perfect! After all, you're still here. Must be doing something right.

But where are you going? What goals have you set for your company? What will your business look like when it's finished?

This forward-thinking mindset is critical in today's marketplace. Because while you're sitting around perfecting your means, the world is changing. And before long, your perfect means might not work anymore. And you'll be back at square one.

The way to get around this is to set and achieve goals that keep your company moving forward. Because when you have a goal to reach, the means aren't so important. What is important is to notice if your current means are working, and then change them as often as necessary until you start moving in the direction of your goal.

So heads up! Look around! Notice what's happening in your environment. Talk to other people in your field. Try to identify trends and respond to them proactively. And most importantly, consistently set and and achieve goals that are in line with your reality. You'll have a more agile, more productive, more profitable company to show for it!

My best,

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