Your direction of travel

Yesterday morning’s client session started with a BIG announcement.

“Jim, I have to tell you something. As of today, the company has already achieved 45% of our entire 2022 revenue figures!”.

Some important context.

• 2021 was a record-breaking year for Paul’s company.
• Yes, we were just 33 days into 2022.
• No, it wasn’t the result of a few huge, unexpected contracts.
• However, having worked with Paul’s company since August 2020, this achievement was fully consistent with their direction of travel. It’s exactly where they should be, given their trajectory.

There’s some solid gold here, for you and your business and your direction of travel.

Allow me to explain.

Direction of travel

Every business today is a reflection of what the people who direct that business have done, and failed to do, up to this point. In summer 2020, when Paul’s company hired me, lots of business owners were focused on surviving during the pandemic. Paul and his business partner were focused on a very different goal.

They chose to look at what was possible (rather than focus on what they feared), and thrive. That has set them on course for staggering (potentially life-changing) success in 2022.

Changing YOUR direction in an instant

Your direction of travel changes the moment you pick a big, audacious goal AND put the people, resources and processes in place to achieve it.

Naturally, it works both ways.

Here’s why most small businesses limp along for years and years, stressed and achieving nothing like they could have.

Most small business owners / directors set goals. BUT they lack the guts to invest in the resources required to achieve anything meaningful. In doing so they’re perfectly on course to make a total mess of it.

The coordinates of their direction of travel looks like this:

– They’re not expecting much.

– So, they’re not doing much.

– And are travelling towards nothing much.

They don’t even know why

Very, very few small business owners on that direction of travel have accepted why they’re struggling. They’ll tell themselves the reason they’re spinning their wheels is that they’re in the wrong location, or that things are generally quiet. Others blame their industry – – even though they have local competitors doing great.

Everyone reading this knows for sure, that one day they’ll arrive.

The question is, where?

In short, if you’re unhappy with the way things are going, change your direction of travel. And have the courage to back yourself to achieve it.