It's Time to Finish the Job.

Welcome to 2009. Sitting at my desk a few days before the end of 2008, I find myself fully and unapologetically looking forward to the start of 2009.

I won't spend much time dwelling on 2008. The press and the holiday parties have that responsibility well in hand. My conclusions fall in line with others:

• The economy is bad and will get worse before it gets better;
• Consumers don't have money to spend. We will continue to see the impact in housing, automotive, and retail which, in turn, will impact nearly every other industry;
• We're in a downward spiral that will require significant government intervention and spending to break.

Yet, for all the negative news, I go into the new year remarkably optimistic. I'm not being a polyanna, nor ignoring facts. I continue to believe, however, in the ambition, drive, dedication, and determination of us.

RedZone Consulting is all about helping organizations "reach (their) true goals." To do so, we use a structured process, a methodology. And a critically important part of that process is at the very end. We call the activities: "Finishing the Job." It's a set of activities that you don't see in most (if any) other methodologies. And the concept behind "Finishing the Job" is what makes me optimistic about 2009.

You know the story. The first 80% is the easiest. The last 20% is the tough part. That's the "red zone" - the 20 yards before the end zone. But getting into the red zone isn't the goal. It's getting into the end zone. It's scoring. It's winning the game. It's finishing the job.

We use "Finishing the Job" in our methodology as a reminder, as an opportunity to revisit and confirm our original goals. And, if those goals are still valid, to re-focus our efforts on achieving those goals.

"Finishing the Job" is something we (collectively) do. Sometimes we need prodding or reminding. Thus, the activities in the RedZone framework. But, when reminded, we rarely say, "naw, I don't want to do that..." We get up and we finish the job. We get it done.

Consider 2008 our reminder. 2008 was the wake up call. 2008 was the kick in the pants.

So we head into 2009. Heads high. Determined. Focused. It's time to finish the job. It's time to get through the red zone to the end zone. It's time to score. It's time to win.

Happy New Year. Now, let's get it done.

What if you gave a party....

....and nobody came?

That's what it feels like right now. We're sitting smack dab in the middle of "tough stuff." (I refuse to say "bad economy" or "worst economy in 40 years" or "Dang, what the heck is going to happen next?!?") And during tough stuff like this, every company should be very actively doing things - i.e. making changes! So where is everyone????

I can't believe it's just the holidays. "That's okay, I know it's a crisis and my business is on the cusp of failing - but we've got a Christmas lunch to attend. I'll deal with the business stuff after the first of the year."

C'mon people! Almost every assumption people made about business growth and the economy at the beginning of 2008 have been proven WRONG. And what are you supposed to do when your core assumptions turn out to be wrong? (Remember your lessons from Strategy Execution 101!).

That's right - you need to update your assumptions, assess the new assumptions impact on your goals, reset your goals, and then develop a new plan of attack based on the new goals. And what happens after the new plan is established? That's right - you EXECUTE! You start doing things differently - immediately! "Don't do ANYTHING that is not fully aligned with reaching your goals." Period. (That's also from Strategy Execution 101).

So, with all of our assumptions turned inside out, I would expect this huge buzz of activity, of companies changing direction, taking on new activities, eliminating others. Instead, what do I hear? Layoffs.

Layoffs! People losing jobs. In some cases layoffs are an appropriate and necessary activity, required to align a company to its new goals. But layoffs are NOT the full answer. That's a short-sighted, knee jerk approach.

Instead, companies should be using this market weakness as an opportunity. Since expectations are so low right now, companies should be using this time to invest, change, reposition for the future. And the future will come. The question is simply who will be ready to take advantage of the future the minute it shows its face - and who will just be starting... I'll bet you know who the ultimate winners will be...

Happy Holidays, everyone. May 2009 be a year of health, happiness, and success - in all senses of that word - for you and yours.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

With apologies to Annie, what the heck is the big deal with "Tomorrow?"

Teacher, teacher! I know!  Call on me!  "Tomorrow is the day of promise.  It's the future.  It's when all those things we are wishing for will come true!"

Uh, time out.  There's the problem.  "Wishing."

Far too often, strategic plans or major projects are built on the equivalent of 'wishes.'  Leaders say they want something to happen.  They say it loud, they say it strong, they say it often.  And somehow, they think that is enough to make the wishes come true. It isn't.

Let me tell you one of my favorite "I can't believe he did that" stories.  You'll soon understand why I can't tell you the name of the executive involved or his company.  But I will tell you that it went through Chapter 11....

It was a year of challenge.  The stores weren't meeting their numbers.  But the CEO had the answer.  He scheduled, on short notice, a managers' meeting.  He brought all the store managers together for a three day session.  We're talking a few hundred people, so this was not an inexpensive operation.

On the first day of the three-day session, the CEO opened the meeting with a video.  It was a very well-done video, full of nice imagery and music, to pump up the audience.  And it did.  The managers stood and applauded.  The stage was set.  The CEO strode to the front of the room and in his loud, ex-Marine voice, announced:  "I need you to sell more."  And then he repeated the same phrase several more times, sometimes the exact words, sometimes varying them slightly. Because, of course, if you repeat something often enough, it will happen.  Uh, or not.

Over the next three days, the meeting followed this pattern.  Some "pump you up" activity would occur and then the CEO (or one of his designates) would get up in front of the crowd and say (yep): "I need you to sell more" (or something just like it).

After three days, everyone went back home and the CEO sat back, just waiting for the new, bigger numbers to start rolling in.  Ha.

I love this story because it is so clear, and such an extreme example (almost to the point of farce) of the problem evidenced at many companies.  

You can't just tell people what to do.  You have to teach them.  Show them.  Make sure they understand clearly what is expected of them, in ways they can monitor and measure.  Give them the right tools.  Make sure they have the right incentives.  Help them to understand the clues along the way that let them know they're going in the right direction, or not.

And that's the big deal about "Tomorrow."  It's not the ability to wish or hope for something to happen that makes tomorrow so important. It's what you do.  You know your goals.  You know what you want to accomplish.  That's the easy part.  What do you do?  What are you going to do to reach your goals?  What are you going to do to succeed?  What are you going to do differently to make the right things happen?

When you think about tomorrow, make sure you're thinking about it the right way:  "What am I going to do, tomorrow, different from today, to reach my true goals."  A wish may be "a dream your heart makes."  It's hard work, however, to make that dream come true.