When Your Ship is Off-Course

Have you ever said, "Gee, if I'd known then what I know now..."  Watching all the numbers in your business - all the moving parts - is good...to a point.
So, how do you identify THE ONE THING - the one thing that when things get out of tolerance you tweak it and you're back on track?

Imagine the moving parts in a cruise ship - heating and air conditioning units, fuel delivery systems, rudders, radar, engines, personnel, etc.  Any one of these things could put a wrench in the works.

What if some inattention in one of the ship's systems caused a navigation deviation of just 1 degree?  Not a major issue in the short term.  But, like a crack in the ice, that 1 degree deviation takes you further and further off-course.

So, in your business, how do you recognize that deviation of 1 degree before it costs you some back tracking to get back on course?  Watching all the moving parts is a bit like riding a bike in a spinning class.  You have an elevated heart beat, you get really sweaty, but you didn't go anywhere.  You're doing all the right things but not making progress.

To discover what THE ONE THING is in your business, think back to that time when things got off track.  What was the little red flag that should have been heeded?  What one little change in the reading on the gauge is an indicator that something needs to be tweaked to move it in the right direction?

Finding the key indicator in your business isn't as easy as it sounds.  If you feel like your head is bobbing trying to keep an eye on all the gauges and you don't know how to find THE ONE THING in your business that is your compass, you're not alone.  Business owners often jump to the conclusion that "Sales" is their key indicator.  But, ask yourself, "What is it that drives that engine?"  Dig deeper.  Get to know your business even better.

Looking at your business from a different angle or getting an outsider's take on your business is often the fresh perspective you needed to gain an  ah-ha! view of your business.