What is the strategic direction of your business? Is your strategic direction aligned with your current goals? A lot of businesses have short-term goals that are not in sync with the long-term strategy of their businesses. If you want to be truly effective, look at where your business needs to go in the future.

Similar to sports, you want to pass the ball (puck) to where the receiver is going to be, not where they are when you start the pass.  One of the recommendations I make to my clients is that they set a time twice a month, uninterrupted for 30 minutes to think about their business.  Focus on ONE area of your business, but your assignment is to come up with 10 answers/obstacles/ideas/opportunities for that one area.  

A common strategy in therapy is for therapists to ask patients the same question over and over again until patients drill down to the root causes of their issues.  This exercise follows the same strategy—you have to dig deep to find the golden answers for your business.  You will be amazed how that thinking time impacts your business and profitability.

Schedule an appointment with yourself that can’t be rescheduled or postponed. Sit in a room with no distractions for 30 minutes. That's it.  The clarity you gain will change the direction of your business.

What are your strategic goals and what will the organization have to do to achieve them by the deadline you have set?