
One word: Pause. We get so wound up in the day to day demands, that we don't stop long enough to think about our next steps or longer range goals. One way to move your business forward toward your vision is to schedule quarterly reviews of pause. Pause to consider four things:
1) What should I be doing more of? Identify the things that are giving you great results and do more of those types of activities.
2) What should I be doing less of? What are the things that are a waste of time or are not effective...if you can't simply stop doing them, is there a way to minimize the time spent doing those tasks?
3) What do I need to start doing? There are likely things that leap to mind when you read this question. Those nagging voices in your head telling you, "I really should be doing...".
4) What do I need to stop doing? Probably the hardest thing to do is to stop doing what you've always done. It takes discipline to make sure the highest priority items are always in focus. The best way to do that is to eliminate time wasters. Saying "no" is not comfortable, but in the interest of maximum productivity, sometimes it's necessary.
Taking the time to re-focus can bring any leader closer to success. Use these four questions as a starter to get you on your path...