Tag Archive for: Planning

What Could Be Worse?

I recently heard Robert Kennedy speaking about a conversation that he had held with Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk, prior to his sad and unwarranted assassination. Kennedy suggested that there were worse things than dying. One such example would be to live in a communist or socialist state where you had no choices, effectively in a position where you could not make your own decisions, one where you had no Constitutional rights.

Now, I do not want to turn this blog into a political diatribe, but I do wish to use it as a launch pad for you to reach a higher level of your future. If money were not an object, would you pursue some role that is different than your current one? Do you absolutely love what you are doing in your life? Do you have higher aspirations? Are you being your best self?

If so, I applaud you. My point is that we have so many options available to us. Let’s not overlook them, particularly out of fear. Fear is nothing more than an acronym for – False Expectations Appearing Real…

Have you been thinking about something new and challenging, career wise or for your Family or something even bigger? Set the goal, recognize the obstacles, and then figure out how you can mitigate each of them, as you set out on your new mission.

Motivational speaker Les Brown tells the story outlined by Dr. Howard Thurman, who said that the ultimate positive would be to be on your deathbed and be completely surrounded by your Friends and Family, providing you with your final moments of love & comfort, celebrating your accomplishments in whatever you had pursued.

Contrast that with the pain associated with being in the same situation, except that you are surrounded by your unfulfilled dreams, and these dreams say to you, “We came to you, and only you could have fulfilled us. But now we must die with you.”

What a sad situation that would be… What goal or decision have you been putting off?

Please don’t let another moment go by without addressing this. Move forward with your dream. Prove the naysayers wrong!

I will see you at the finish line and if I can assist you on this process, please let me know.

“Wherever you are in life, you made an appointment to be there.”

Les Brown, Motivational Speaker

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

What Should I Do Next?

Recently, I had a Client ask me if they should go ahead and order the steel roofing they need for a barn reroofing project. The conversation turned to tariffs and what their impact might be on prices. Since he has the necessary Cash & Credit available, I suggested that he proceed. I’ll explain why in a moment.

However, I first want to address the issue of tariffs since they seem so prevalent in discussion today. First, tariffs are nothing new. Countries have been placing them on the U.S. for years. Prior to the Federal Income Tax being put in place in the early 1900’s, it was the primary source of financing for the U.S. government. While they can impact prices somewhat, the impact of tariffs is often absorbed by the Importer or Exporter whereby they take a smaller margin, at least for a while. Why were they put in place to begin with?

For the past 20+ years, the U.S. has run trade deficits with our trading partners, and these deficits were being financed by taking on additional government debt. Given the large trade and budget deficits of the U.S., we could not allow this to continue. The tariffs were also designed to move manufacturing back to America. Given the multiple trillion-dollar investments being pledged by corporations, it seems to be working.

Yet, let’s get back to the decision about reroofing the barn. Since the Client had the funds and his herd will clearly benefit, why wait? The tariffs and all kinds of regulations will occur. However, they should not impact a sound business decision. Besides, are they the “real” reason prices have risen or is it the impact of the past five years’ inflation?

When we are facing a decision, let’s consider the following steps:

·       Decide at the outset what goal you want to achieve.

·       Consider the pluses and minuses of the various options.

·       What are the next steps?

·       Who will complete these steps and by when?

If you focus on these key steps, you will undoubtedly make better decisions and achieve solid progress. Besides, if we always waited for prices to drop, wouldn’t we all be driving rusty cars from 1962? Think about it.

“It is always your next move.”

Napoleon Hill, Author of Think & Grow Rich

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

What’s Your Next Action Step?

Do you have a Goal? Brian Tracy, in his book The 32 Unbreakable Laws of Money and Success, outlines a 7 Step process that we all should follow to achieve the goals that we desire.

Here is a synopsis of those seven steps:

·       “Decide exactly what you want.” This is just like archery. You are very unlikely to hit a goal you cannot see. In the case of archery, if you are blindfolded, you probably won’t hit the target. The same holds for goals not set.

·       “Write it down.” There is some “magic” to writing down your objectives. Your subconscious mind works toward them, even as you go about other tasks. Don’t overlook this “hidden” advantage.

·       “Set Deadlines.” Otherwise, nothing happens, so create a “Sense of Urgency!”

·       “Make a Checklist.” What needs to happen? By when? By whom?

·       “Organize Your List by Sequence and Priority.” In what order do the steps above need to be completed?

·       “Take Action.” This is imperative.

·       “Keep Going.” In the infamous words of Winston Churchill, “Never give up!”

It is important that we then manage our time and, frankly, make every moment count, and just in case you are nervous about making a big decision, please allow me to offer you a story from my Business Coach Dan Sullivan of The Strategic Coach:

“When I started as a copywriter at a large ad agency in Toronto, my creative director taught me something that changed how I approach decision making.

He was a tough street kid who didn’t go to college until his thirties, and when people would stress about making the “right decision,” he’d look at them and say, “Nobody makes right decisions. You make a decision—and work like hell to make it right.”

That mindset has stuck with me for decades. And in today’s world, it’s more relevant than ever.

In times of uncertainty, most people wait. They stall. They default to bureaucracy. They overthink and delay progress because they’re afraid of making the wrong move.

But entrepreneurs have a distinct advantage: You don’t have to wait. You can make a decision right now and start moving forward—while everyone else is still standing still.

This mentality—prioritizing action over perfection—is what separates entrepreneurs who thrive from those who get stuck. Because when you’re indecisive, you’re not just pausing … you’re slipping backward. You’re building pressure, second-guessing yourself, and cutting yourself off from learning.

But the moment you make a decision—any decision—and take action, everything changes.

You start learning.
You gain insight.
You build momentum.
You get feedback and make improvements.
You make progress.”

I’ll conclude with Dan’s final thoughts on this:


“Uncertain times don’t have to slow you down. In fact, they can be the best time to invest in yourself—because while the rest of the world waits, you can move forward.

The entrepreneurs who win aren’t the ones who play it safe. They’re the ones who act, learn, and adapt.

Because indecision isn’t safe—it’s the riskiest position of all.”

If I can be of assistance to you, please let me know.

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Are You in a Delay Pattern?

As some of you may know, I fly a lot in my consulting travels across the U.S. I believe I have 1.4 million Lifetime Miles on United Airlines, as well as miles on some other flight providers. In those travels, “Delay Patterns” are not unusual, due to heavy air traffic flows & some weather challenges. Frankly, the airlines do a decent job of handling most of these hurdles.

A bigger concern I have is the number of delays that businesspeople experience in their ongoing activities. Bank approval of loans often gets delayed, with no apparent reason… Likewise, operators get delayed in making decisions, sometimes due to these loan approvals, but other times due to self-imposed postponement.

One example I can think of is the dairy client who stated that he would never pay $2,200 for a fresh two-year-old, so he paused. Today, 18 months later, the market prices of these cows are $3,500-4,000! Another prospect thought that $3.5 Million was too much to invest in a new rotary milk barn for his herd. Today, the cost has climbed to $6 Million…

To clarify, I think it’s essential that we realize we are in a different arena today. Post COVID, political handouts, government borrowing and the inflation that all of that has created, costs have increased and may very well continue into the foreseeable future. Now, that is not the only reason to move forward. They are just examples above.

However, let’s set a new course and simply make sound decisions, based upon their own merits, not just because something seems “too expensive.” Weigh out the pluses and minuses and then make the decision – Yes or No.

If there are risks associated with the decision to move forward or not, can they be mitigated? If so, go for it. If not, consider an alternative route.

Do you need one more reason to make a decision? Lack of good, well thought out decisions often can “mortgage the future” for your successors and leave the next generation in a deferred and often less enviable position. Who pays for this delayed action? They do.

Additionally, there are often positive results that are missed by delaying decisions. One client, in spite of having the funds available, deferred on building a new Bed-Pack barn. The result? They missed out on better cow comfort, more milk, and more revenue. They also failed to achieve an improved debt structure, as a result of their decision to not add an Asset to their Balance Sheet with no additional debt. Why wait?

What decision have you been deferring? Weigh the pros and cons before you decide and then move on to the next step today!

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

What’s Your QTR?

Last week, I heard a new term, or at least it was new to me… QTR or Quality Time Remaining.

Of course, I have heard of Quantity Time Remaining. If you are 50 years old and plan to live until you are 80, your Quantity of Time Remaining would be about 30 years.

So, what is this term Quality Time Remaining? It is not only how much time you have left, but it is also what can you offer? How much time do I have left to contribute positive output that can impact others for the better?

I was talking with a prospect last week, and he said that, for the first time, he was being asked to provide his bank with an Annual Budget. I did not consider this an unreasonable request, but after 50 years with the same lender, the prospect was slightly offended. The loan officer’s quantity of time was 30-40 years (before he retired), but his Quality of Time was currently low on this measurement. He was new to this role and did not know how to create a budget with the customer. I’m not sure how he will interpret it when he receives a new one… Nonetheless, never having generated one before, the borrower did not know how to complete the process either.

Ultimately, it created an opportunity for me to build a budget for them. While the borrower “reacted” to the situation, I wanted to take a different approach. Have you noticed that “reactive” and “creative” contain the same letters? If I view this as an opportunity to be creative, the entire process will go much more smoothly.

My suggestion for you? Boost the amount of times when you can be creative and minimize the times when you are reactive. Life will be far better, and you will boost your QTR as well! Stay focused, and you will be prepared for whatever arrives, instead of wondering what just happened.

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, MAKE THEM.”

                                                George Barnard Shaw

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Were They Planning to Fail?

Recently, I visited a business prospect who suggested that, frankly, he did not know how they arrived in the challenging situation they were currently facing. After looking at their situation, I made two quick suggestions that may yield an additional $100,000 of profit.

Their situation reminded me of the cartoon with the two cowboys leaning on a fence and a starving cow standing next to them. They said, “Gee, just don’t know what happened, but she just suddenly took a turn for the worse…” The reality is the cow had been starving for weeks. They just hadn’t been paying attention…

This is all too common in business today, and the resulting downturn for some is coming faster than ever. While we cannot control the impact of variables like COVID, inflation, higher interest rates or tariffs, we can structure our business operations to build some “cushion” for these types of impactful events.

We know these various challenges will arise at times, sometimes when we least expect them. With this in mind, let’s develop a plan to overcome them. Remember, tough times don’t last; tough people do!

What can you do? First, develop a plan for what you want to achieve, or as Stephen Covey often stated, “Begin with the end in mind.” What are the obstacles you will potentially face, and how can you mitigate these? Set dates for the steps you will need to take and determine who will be implementing these tasks. Otherwise, you could end up like the four people: Everybody, Anybody, Somebody, and Nobody.

Everybody agreed that a task was essential. Anybody could have implemented the next step. Somebody should have taken charge, but, in the end, Nobody did. The result? They were “painted into a corner” with no way out…

Don’t get caught in this trap. Develop a plan, monitor its implementation closely and adjust it when necessary. Stay the course, and you will be “Ready for the Big Dance” when good times arrive, instead of sitting on the sidelines, wishing you had made some changes.

“A good plan is like a roadmap: it shows the final destination and usually marks the best way to get there…”

                                                            H. Stanley Judd

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Was It Time for a Wakeup Call?

I have recently been hearing about organizations that are under “financial duress.” According to reports, they have been losing money for over 10 years and just recently decided to make some adjustments… Of course, there were plenty of “excuses.” First there was COVID, then we couldn’t hire sufficient help, then we saw inflation, the Fed raised interest rates, and, alas, now we are being subjected to tariffs…

As I said, they have now decided to make serious adjustments and develop a plan. Actually, their lenders likely decided that the company needed a plan for change. They may have been reaching a scary point on their “Burn Rate.” This is the amount of time a company has left, given their current rate of losses, before all their equity is gone. For example, if we have $1,000,000 of equity and lose $200,000 per year, we have five years left before all our equity is gone, assuming nothing changes.

This is not a fun position to be in. I also recently learned of a Homeowners Association that plans to assess each of their homeowners $25,000 to compensate for “deferred maintenance” in their community. This is a prime example of how past decisions, or lack thereof, can hurt future generations, because eventually the “toll will get paid…”

It reminds me of the old Sunoco gasoline commercials, where the mechanic suggested that we should be using their high-quality gasoline to minimize engine repairs later. While it was more expensive per gallon, he stated that you can “Pay me now or pay me later.”

I have one question for you to consider. Are there decisions or actions that you have been deferring into the future? Given the current economic situation that has resulted from COVID, hiring challenges, inflation, higher interest rates and/or tariffs, do you need to rethink how & when you might address some challenges in your life or business? If so, start to address them today. The future success of your family, the availability of necessary financing, or your organization’s very survival will be dependent upon it!

As I stated in my last blog, you will be better prepared for success, i.e. “Ready for the Big Dance” when better times arrive, instead of sitting on the sidelines, wishing you were more prepared. If I can assist you with this process, please let me know. It’s what I do best!

“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.”

                                                            Earl Nightingale

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Where Have All the Lenders Gone?

We have been facing a tough business environment these past four years. We have seen ridiculous inflation as a direct result of the enormous “spending packages” during the post Covid period. This inflation, in turn, led the Federal Reserve Board to increase interest rates by 5% over a two-year period.

This was the foundation of their efforts to rein in inflation, but, as usual, “they were late to the game” and now appear to have over-corrected in their actions. They have suggested that we are “almost there” on controlling inflation, but the pain seems to be spreading throughout the entire economy.

I’m not seeing prices of most inputs drop, even though they may be rising at a slightly slower pace. In this scenario, I have noticed that the process of acquiring new financing or even completing annual renewals for Clients has taken extremely long, in comparison to the past. I wonder why…

We have more information available to us on all businesses than we have ever had. There is nothing hidden, especially with the power of the internet and more recently the advent of Ai and all its opportunities.

With all the information we have at our disposal, what could be the hold-up on loans? Is it information overload on the part of Loan Officers? Is it extreme top-down management at banks, where no one has any authority to approve loans. Anytime there is a committee involved, it seems like the approval process grows exponentially. Could it be the “fear of making a mistake?” Consider the following:

“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”
Winston Churchill

I recently had a Client for whom I was seeking refinancing. Their approval took over a year. They have excellent equities, solid inventories, have been profitable in three of the last 4 years but were caught in the tumult of a bank buyout where their lender got absorbed by another lender. It was challenging, and, at times, I felt like I was leading the new loan officer through a finance course. I can assure you that it was taxing.

To avoid this, I suggest you always have the following information available, and this is something I helped this Client to develop:

  • CPA Prepared Financial Statements
  • Inventory Reports
  • An updated Cash Flow Budget
  • Responses to FAQs of bankers, regarding management decisions & plans.

What is the Next Step for you? Is it time to “Reset?” In my next blog, I will address that process.

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Is It Time to Go?

I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine about having him start a new business. Of course, he was concerned about numerous items – recent events with Ai, continued concerns about inflation and high interest rates.

I suggested that he focus on what he wanted to achieve with his customers and, as the saying goes, not “let the smoke get in your eyes.” While the recent concerns about Ai are relevant, I cannot let that stop me from moving forward with my life and neither can you. In fact, the advent of Ai will likely assist many businesses to streamline their operations and become more efficient. Recent Ai events were probably a “wake up call” for the U.S. tech industry…

Now, regarding inflation and its effect on the Federal Reserve Board raising interest rates to slow down our economy, we have had inflation for a long time. Why do you think the “purchasing power” of the U.S. dollar has decreased so much over the last 50 years?

Instead of worrying about the impact of these forces, I suggested that he spend more time focusing on what he wanted to do for customers. Additionally, consider what he needed to get started. Let’s consider these outside forces and then focus on the positives of what he could offer.

In the book “Start Up Nation” authors Dan Senor and Saul Singer state that “Without start-ups, the average annual net employment growth rate (1980-2005) would actually have been negative. Economist Carl Schramm, president of the Kauffman Foundation, which analyzes entrepreneurial economics, told us that ‘for the United States to survive and continue its economic leadership in the world, we must see entrepreneurship as our central comparative advantage. Nothing else can give us the necessary leverage.’”

So, after shifting my friend’s focus, I suggested he consider the following. If he knew that he could not fail, what would he do? Once identified, that is where he is most likely to succeed.

What is the Next Step for you? Please let me know if I can help you. You can reach me at john@success-strategies.com, and consider the following advice:

“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.”

Anonymous

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

What is Your Mission This Year?

As we begin a new year, I believe it is crucial that we identify what our primary objectives are for the coming 12 months. I understand that the challenges of inflation, higher interest rates and general over-regulation of most industries today have helped to create a sense of malaise.

However, in the words of Greco-Roman Philosopher Epictetus:

“The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”

In other words, focusing on these items can create a sense of helplessness. This is a myth. You have more control over your outcomes than you give yourself credit for. While all of these variables can impact your results to some extent, you have the ability to boost your outcome.

You can control your results, and it helps to have a plan. Can you control every step? Of course not, but once you have set your objective, decide what your first step will be.

And isn’t this a great time of year to start outlining your objectives for the year?

Along with your first step, identify the potential challenges you will face and what your response will be to each one. Be sure to get your Team involved as you lay out the plan. Their support will be instrumental to your success.

Then, as you move forward, start to identify each of your next steps and refine your plan accordingly. Ultimately, the combination of your belief and a sound planning process will assist you to “Make It Happen!”

What is the Next Step for you? Please let me know if I can assist you. You can reach me at john@success-strategies.com, and consider the following advice:

“A good plan is like a roadmap: it shows the final destination and usually marks the best way to get there…”

H. Stanley Judd

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!