Which Way Are You Headed? This Way? That Way? Or, The Other Way?

Blog post by Deb Dietz

​In your business are you constantly changing, constantly re-prioritizing? Shifting direction frequently rather than staying the course?

As part of the business planning process you're certainly prioritizing objectives, and those objectives ideally should be looked at, even re-prioritized, each quarter based on inputs like market and financial analysis, customer and supplier feedback - you know, factors that impact your profitable growth.

But what happens when re-prioritizing isn't based on data, or customer feedback, or market insights? What happens when you shift direction based on someone's feedback?

Maybe a business colleague who has an opinion, someone who isn't in your industry, or isn't an expert in what he/she is providing feedback on?

Do you follow that advice, knowing that you're changing again?

Because change can be addictive.

You know, that next shiny penny.

Maybe you've worked hard on brand awareness, spending much time and investment in getting the word out about who you are, your company, your value proposition over a period of several months.

Then, when you're building steam and gaining momentum, which are essential to your success, you change the way you talk about yourself.

And you change your website to reflect this new way of thinking.

You are excited about making change because change, in and of itself, implies making either an essential difference or a substitution of one thing for another.

So, you've discarded the essential, thrown it out in the bathwater because of the excitement and energy that change brings.

Think of the time wasted.

Opportunities missed.

Following the shiny penny, then finding a new shiny penny, then another, isn't sustainable.

You can't focus and you won't make ground.

And, you'll lose that one thing that was essential to your success.

So, no matter where you're going - this way, that way, or the other way, justify your direction with insights gained from data analysis and business intelligence.