Success comes from making good choices about what to do and what NOT to do. Often our biggest breakthroughs occur when we decide to stop doing something. So here’s something we can all put on our Don’t Do List that will change our lives positively forever: STOP discussing the past!

It’s history. Its only value is in what you can learn to help you make better decisions in the present.

Did you know that the most important part of your annual planning session isn't planning? If you're like many companies, your leadership team skips the most critical component of your annual planning. And it negatively impacts your team's creativity and goal setting for the coming year.

Business leaders of entrepreneurial companies are so hard-charging, so busy, and so overwhelmed, that they tend to see only the gaps ahead of them. These are the goals, ideals, and accomplishments they haven't reached yet. When you're feeling overworked from the previous year and start looking at all the gaps you have yet to cover, it can put you into the wrong frame of mind for moving forward.

Landings can be one of the most challenging parts of flight. This is especially true when the weather gets bad, i.e., low clouds, reduced visibility, rain, thunderstorms, snow or turbulence.

The missed approach is a standard procedure used when a landing cannot safely be made. When this happens, the same steps are performed in sequence, every time: apply full power, climb to a specific altitude, navigate to a designated “fix” and then enter a holding pattern before initiating “Plan B.”

When things go wrong during this critical phase of flight, it’s reassuring to know there is a procedure in place to make sure the flight ends safely. In other words, there is a plan for the unplanned.

For a lot of my clients right now, sales is not the issue, but I’m a believer in getting ahead of the curve. Figure out what’s working, get on the same page with the whole team, inspire everyone to cement client loyalty and identify new prospects! And give your team the tools they need.

“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” - General George S. Patton  

Over the last eight years, I’ve helped 100 entrepreneurial leadership teams create and execute more than 300 “strategic plans.” Not one of them wanted a beautiful plan – they all wanted more traction. In other words, they wanted to properly focus the organization on the right stuff, and to instill more discipline and accountability so that everyone actually executes on the company’s vision and plan.