Archive for Goals
What’s the Difference Between Mission, Vision, Initiatives and Goals?
Posted by: | CommentsI was talking with one of my clients earlier today and we ran into a common problem that most organizations have when they engage in strategic planning–that is, confusion (or agreement) about what individual terms mean. For example, what’s the difference between a mission and a vision? Or what’s the difference between an opportunity and an initiative? Or how is a goal different from a tactic? Different people have different definitions—which is why there’s so much confusion about what each terms means.
To help un-complicate the process of defining these terms, here are the definitions I use when working with clients (along with an example or two of each).
1. Mission: This is what a company does. It should be short and easy to memorize. However, it shouldn’t be so generic that you can’t tell what business it’s in. Note: similar businesses may have very similar mission statements. Why? Because they essentially do the same things.
- To promote and develop the growth of tennis (The United States Tennis Association)
- To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful (Google)
2. Vision: This is what a company wants to become. Vision is a seeing term. Therefore a vision statement should be future-oriented. It’s an image of what a company wants to create. It isn’t what a company is, it’s what it wants to become. While mission statements may be similar, vision statements should be very different. They should be motivating and inspiring. And they should drive decision-making.
- Be the safest, most customer-focused and successful transportation company in the world (Norfolk Southern)
- To be the preeminent publisher and provider of self-improvement resources that inspires and empowers individuals to lead the lives they most desire (Nightingale Publishers)
3. Values – Values are the foundational beliefs about how you want your employees to act. They are the beliefs that create the culture of an organization. They don’t need to be exhaustive. Nor should the simply be the same from company to company. While integrity, trust, honesty, etc. are good core values, they don’t need to appear on your list unless you believe they must. In many cases, they’re givens. I recommend no more than five core values for a company. Once you get past five, very few people can remember them.
- Excellence – To do the best we can, with the resources we have, in the amount of time we have to do the tasks we’re assigned.
- Curiosity – To be insanely interested in knowing, yet never content with what we know. To be a life-long learner.
4. Growth Initiatives – From a strategic standpoint, what are the three to five most important things you can do to grow your organization? Note: a growth initiative differs from what I refer to as a strategic initiative because a growth initiative is usually related to one or two business units or people—and it can often be completed before the end of the year.
- To add five new joint venture partners by September 30th
- To open an office in Shanghai by July 31st
- To complete a merger or acquisition by December 31st
- To create a strategic partnership with Apple by May 30th
5. Strategic Initiatives – Strategic initiatives, if you want to keep your entire top team involved, should be initiatives that everyone can play a part in fulfilling. And they should be year-long initiatives. The main key thought of a strategic initiative is that it’s something everyone can contribute to, that will advance the organization. Also, strategic initiatives are usually designed to overcome constraints (whereas growth initiatives are often strength focused).
- To double the number of leaders who have completed our Level Three Leadership program and are ready to take on new assignments.
- To raise the level of execution excellence so that the number of errors rate falls to less than one per thousand.
- To train everyone in every department in effective customer service skills so that every customer has a more positive experience regardless of whom they’re interacting with from our company.
6. Goals – Goals are dreams with deadlines. They are quantifiable. You should clearly know if you hit them or not.
- To generate $5.7M by 12/31
- To raise our customer service rating to 4.75 by 9/30
- To raise our profit margin from 30% to 35%by 12/31
7. Tactics – Tactics are the individual activities an employee engages in to complete a goal/initiative/strategy/etc.
- To hire a merger specialist by 3/31
- To design a leadership development process by 6/30
- To recruit three college marketing interns by 3/31
- To renegotiate all vendor contracts by 6/30 to reduce our cost of goods sold by 40% (and saving us $1M)
Hopefully, those definitions and examples will help you get everyone on the same page as you work on (or refine) your strategic plan!
To your accelerated success!
P.S. For a clean pdf of the above definitions and examples, click here >>
What’s Holding You Back, Part II
Posted by: | CommentsIf you didn’t read part one, scroll below (if you’re on the blog right now) or click on the following link>> (if you’re reading this by RSS).
Note: If you didn’t answer the question from the last post, “What are the major constraints that are hindering me (and my business/organization) from achieving my (our) potential?”, then make sure you do so before proceeding any further.
Okay, so you’ve now identified your major constraints (and as I said last time, they could be external or internal, mental or physical, systemic of situational). They could be a person or a process, a self-limiting belief or a financial limitation (for example).
The next thing you want to do is order them. You want to take each constraint and ask the question, “Where does this constraint come in the priority list of which constraint needs to be solved first?” In other words, you want to play each constraint off the others as you seek to find the major constraint that needs to be solved first.
I liken this to a playoff system (brackets) you see in sports. For simplicity’s sake we’ll call constraints “C”. So you play C1 vs. C2. Let’s say C2 needs to be solved before C1. Then you play off C3 vs. C4. Let’s say C3 needs to be solved before C4. Then you playoff C2 vs. C3 and let’s say C3 needs to be solved before C2 (which means it has to come before C1). You now know what has to happen first. In other words, once you work through this process, you’ll quickly know what the major constraint is for you (or you and your business) this year.
Using the four constraints listed above, it would be understandable to think that you need to solve the financial problem first. But that might not be true. It may be because you don’t have a systematic and methodical process in place to acquire new capital. However, it may be that the reason you don’t have a systematic and methodical process in place is because Sally is in charge of that area and she’s not very competent. She’s been at your company for ten years, she’s loved by every one, but she’s incompetent. You know you ought to let her go, but you haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Why?
Ah, it’s that self-limiting thought that keeps you from changing her out. It may be a belief that letting Sally go will demoralize your team. Or the belief that, “If I just give her some more time and training, she’ll succeed” (which could be true, but hasn’t been for the past five years). Or it could be the belief that, “She’s a single mom and she needs our help.” Or it could be the belief that, “Maybe in a year another position in our company will open up and I can move her over there.” Etc. We all have them. And those self-limiting beliefs do get in the way of making good business decisions.
The beauty of working through this process is that once you play this game, you’ll often find out that what you thought was the major constraint (in this case, “We don’t have enough access to capital”) may, in fact, not be the most important constraint to solve first.
So, before I give you the next step, why don’t we stop here for today. Take out your list of constraints and order them. Play them off against one another and see if you can reduce your constraints down to a handful of the most important constraints to solve first. And most importantly, make sure you identify what the first constraint is that you need to solve before any others!
To your accelerated success!
What’s Holding You and Your Company Back?
Posted by: | CommentsAre you familiar with the Theory of Constraints (TOC)? If you’re not, the theory (an overall management philosophy) came into vogue post the publication of a book entitled, “The Goal,” by Eliyahu M. Goldratt.
In its most basic form the theory contends that any manageable system (like your business) is hindered from achieving its potential by a very few number of constraints–of which, one, is the major one. While the book focuses on the throughput of a manufacturing concern, the theory has been expanded into a general management philosophy–which can provide major dividends for you and your business.
Without going through the whole process, you can clearly benefit, at the start of this year, by focusing on its basic idea–which is, instead of looking for 50 or 100 constraints that are holding your business back, you want to look for a handful of major constraints–and then narrow those down to your major one.
The easiest visual picture I can off you is that of a pipe. If you have one section that is clogged so that only a dime’s worth of water can flow through it, it doesn’t matter what you do to improve the other area of the pipe. You can expand the diameter of the pipe in those other sections. You could even upgrade those sections from PVC to aluminum to steel to platinum to gold. And it won’t make a difference—until you fix that one point in the pipe that only let’s a dime’s worth of water through.
Likewise, in your business, you have some built in constraints. And until you fix them, you’ll always be hindered from achieving your goals. All other activities will be less effective, until you solve that major constraint.
Now, while I think it’s true that you win games by playing to your strengths (not your weaknesses), the best teams focus some of their attention on alleviating their weaknesses. For example, a football team that has a great passing game and a terrible running game would be foolish to focus their attention on running the ball. They’ll simply lose–and lose a lot. However, if they don’t pick up their running game, they’ll hinder their passing game’s potential.
In other words, too many people make success an either/or proposition. Either you focus on strengths or you focus on building your weaknesses. When, in fact, it should be a both/and. Run with your strengths and shore up your weaknesses.
However, that said, shoring up and focusing on weaknesses can be both demotivating and difficult for an organization and its people–which is why I like the Theory of Constraints. Because the theory doesn’t say focus on all of them, it says, “Focus on the major one.”
So, how do you do that? Well that’s for our next discussion. But for now, I’d recommend that you take out a piece of paper (or open a new document on your computer) and simply ask the question, “What are the major constraints that are hindering me (and my business/organization) from achieving my (our) potential?”
To your accelerated success!
Note: Your constraints could be external or internal, mental or physical, systemic or situational. For example, your constraint could be an individual. It could be a facility challenge. It could be a mental limitation. It could be a technology issue. It could be a reach issue. It could be a conversion issue. It could be a training issue. It could be a financial issue. Etc. Don’t worry about narrowing down yet. Just start thinking about your constraints.
New Free Report on Fast Growth Released Today!
Posted by: | CommentsWant to Know How You Can Immediately Begin to Grow Your Business Faster Than You Ever Have Before—While Increasing Your Ability to Lead It More Effectively?
If so, you’ll want to immediately get your hands on the new free report I just released today entitled, “The Seven Secrets of Fast Growth Companies.”
Inside it you’ll discover,
• The number one differentiator between slow and fast growth companies
• The two key elements you need to use to create a fast growth culture
• A simple practice that can radically reduce the time it takes to implement anything
• A lesson from a Harvard professor that can change the way you think forever about your products and services
• A top team practice that can change any meeting you run—and make it more effective.
• The one metric you need to use before choosing any growth idea if you want to be an accelerated growth company
• How you can create a business that’ll scale fast
• How to avoid letting your market think you’re just like “everyone else.”
• How you can create a business that works 24/7, especially when you’re not around.
• And the number one mistake that most CEOs of small and medium-sized make
To get your copy immediately, just fill in the form in the right hand column entitled, “Interested in the 7 Secrets of Fast Growth Companies?” and then click the submit button, “Send it to me now!”
Then after you read it, post your comments below!
Do You Know The Four Evaluation Questions You Need to Ask Every Year?
Posted by: | CommentsAre you starting to do your year-end evaluations—and wrestling with how you can do them well and/or differently this year? If you are, then you’ll want to continue reading this week’s Accelerated Growth Caffeine.
I received an email a few days ago from one of my clients asking about whether or not I had a staff evaluation form for the year end that I could pass along. After answering his question I thought, “I’m sure he’s not the only one asking that question.” So if you’re wondering or have ever wondered about the answer to that question, here are a few quick recommendations.
Number One: No evaluation should ever be a surprise. One of the reasons I’m not a big fan of standardized evaluations is because the best evaluations are based on what you and your employee have agreed to. In other words, evaluations are bad when an employee doesn’t clearly know what they’re being evaluated on—from the beginning of the evaluation period. And even worse, when they’re sandbagged (i.e. blasted over things they didn’t even know they were being held accountable for).
Number Two: The shorter the evaluation form the better. Too many evaluation forms and processes are way too complicated and way too long. Plus, the longer something is, the less operational it is (i.e. if you don’t want to waste your time filling out a long form that your employees won’t use, shorten the form).
Number Three: At the end of the day, you should always design tools (like evaluation forms) that actually accomplish their intended purposes—not just use up time (or fill a slot). And when it comes to evaluations, the intended purposes of an evaluation are to reward positive behaviors and results and redirect incorrect or less effective behaviors. Everything else is extraneous.
Number Four: There are four key questions that every evaluation should attempt to ask and answer (you’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?). Note: You can add to these four, but you don’t need to.
- Did they get done what they were supposed to get done (and how well did they get it done)?
- Did they play well with the others in the sandbox?
- Did they live out the mission, vision and values of your organization?
- Did they grow (in their skills, abilities, behaviors, knowledge, etc.)
That’s it. Don’t over-complicate this process. If you want to add additional questions you can, just keep it short.
Number Five: One last thought. The best evaluations I’ve conducted over the years have been ones where I’ve had my employees fill out their forms first and then submit them to me BEFORE we talked. This worked extremely well because I learned things I didn’t know, I got a better understanding of their mindset before we met, and frequently, I found that they were hard enough on themselves–which meant I could then play more “good cop” to their “bad cop” (since they already knew where they had fallen short–and why).
So, there you have it. The four key questions (and really, the only four questions) you need to ask every year whenever you’re evaluating an employee—plus four other ideas to ensure that when you’re engaged in doing your annual evaluations, you’re doing them well!
To your accelerated success,
Note: If you have any other ideas about annual staff evaluations, post your comments below! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Don’t Think About It, Do It!
Posted by: | CommentsHow many times have you thought about doing something that you know would be helpful or good or beneficial–and then not done it? I know, probably somewhere north of ten thousand times (at least that’s my running total).
Well, this week, I’m on vacation at one of my favorite places on planet earth, Sea Pines Plantation in Hilton Head, NC. 
And as is my custom, I get up each morning, get on a rental bike, and go for about an hour long bike ride along the bike paths inside this beautiful resort–filled with wildlife (including gators), gorgeous golf courses, and multi-million dollar homes.
Yesterday morning (Sunday), as I was on my ride, I noticed a number of other people who were running (which is clearly more exercise than I was getting on my pleasure bike ride). And as I saw them, many who were in great shape, I silently thought to myself, “Boy, I wish I were in that great a shape.” Or, “I used to be one of them (like 30 years ago when I was a multi-sport athlete).”
But as I thought those thoughts, my negative thought patterns sprung into action.
- “But I’m not one of them any more.”
- “My knees are in such bad shape from soccer, I can’t run anymore.”
- “It’s been so long since I’ve run, it’ll be an embarrassment if I even start.”
- “I’m too out of shape to run right now, I’ll need to work up to it.” Etc.
You know those kinds of thoughts don’t you?
But something magical happened when I arrived back at our vacation home. I got off my bike and said to myself, “Forget about all the reasons why this won’t work. Just try it. Just run to the fire hydrant. You always talk about speed of implementation. Back it up Jack.”
So I did. Now, it wasn’t pretty. I’d pick a spot. Run to it. Walk the same distance. Run to another spot. Walk the same distance. Run to another spot. Etc. I felt like I sucked all the oxygen out of Hilton Head Island. Hyperventilation would be a polite way of saying what I was experiencing. But I did it!
And this morning, after another hour long bike ride, I ran again. This time, I went about four times farther and sucked a little less oxygen. And so I find myself, on this second day of vacation thinking about how often you and I allow our excuses to get in the way of making progress (not just in our personal lives, but also in our businesses and organizations).
So, how about you? What have you been thinking about doing, but haven’t done, because you’ve allowed your head to get in the way of doing it?
- Calling a prospect (it’s not the right time)
- Hiring a new sales person (I don’t have all the details worked out)
- Creating a new strategic plan (We’re too busy to take the time to work on that)
- Providing critical feedback to an employee (I don’t think they’ll respond well)
- Delegating several tasks (I can get them done faster if I just do them)
- Calling on a prospective joint venture partner (I don’t know if they’ll say, “Yes!” so I better wait)
We all do this. It’s nothing new. But it is reality. What holds you and me back has far more to do with what we tell ourselves than it does with finding some new idea or technique.
So rather than thinking about it today, why don’t you just do it. As long as it’s legal, beneficial, profitable, good, etc. go for it. You’ll be glad you did.
To your accelerated success!
What are Your Needle Movers?
Posted by: | CommentsEver wonder what you ought to focus your time and attention on? With so many things on your plate, don’t you often wonder, “Where should I start?” But more importantly, as the point person for your company, it’s even more critical that you focus your attention on those activities that have the highest probability of moving your company forward. So how do you decide what those are?
Well, one way is to use, “Needle Movers,” (a phrase I love) from Christine Comaford. Christine defines a needle mover as a tangible result that if accomplished would change everything for your business. In other words, a needle mover is a game changer. It’s not a simple task. And it’s not necessarily a strategic initiative.
I think of strategic initiatives as key initiatives that the majority of executives (or business units) in a business can be involved in. For example, “To raise the level of excellence,” or “To develop the next generation of leaders.” The idea of a strategic initiative is to get as many people as possible involved in helping move a company or organization forward. If an initiative is something that only one small part of a company might be involved in, the ownership and excitement over that initiative will be minimal.
However, a needle mover could be something that is very specific to a specific area. For example, a needle mover could be, “To land two major accounts with Fortune 500 companies in the next 90 days.” HR and Finance (et. al.) probably won’t be involved in landing those accounts, but landing those two accounts could be a game changer.
Other examples of needle movers might be
• To generate 1,000 new leads this month
• To hire three new pay-for-performance sales reps
• To ink five new joint venture projects over the next quarter
• To create one new product over the next 30 days.
• To outsource all of xyz (so you can focus more time on profitable activities)
• To generate an additional $________ of revenue in the next 30 days
• To add two new sales channels
You get the idea. Based on your size and your market, what would be a game changer for you? What needle movers will radically change everything for you and your business?
Narrow those ideas down to the top three (no more than five) needle moving results you want for the next month (or quarter, or year). Then create a plan for how you plan to accomplish those needle movers. And then finally focus your attention, every day, for the next 30 (or 60 or 90) days on those three (to five) needle movers.
Every morning you need to ask, “What progress will I (or we) make on our needle movers today?” And then, at the end of every day, you need to ask, ”What progress did I (or we) make on our needle movers today?“
If you want to make progress fast, make sure you focus on your needle movers . . . every day!
To your accelerated success!
Want to Increase Your Productivity?
Posted by: | CommentsDo you often feel frustrated at the end of the day–like you’ve worked hard, long and fast–and yet it still doesn’t feel like you’ve done enough?
Believe it or not, one of the main culprits of that feeling is probably your ability to multi-task! In other words, one of the skills that you acquired as you’ve built and led companies over the years has now becoming one of your Achilles’ heels.
For years, you’ve probably prided yourself, like I have, on your ability to do a lot of things very fast and often at the same time. And chances are, the people around you have probably been in awe of that ability (which only made you feel better, didn’t it?).
However, you’re now the senior executive of a thriving business and what was once an asset, has now become a liability. The studies are clear, multi-tasking actually slows you down–it doesn’t speed you up. A classic example would be writing an important proposal (or letter or ad or …, you pick). You write paragraph one. Your Blackberry goes off (or your email program beeps). You look at it. Read it. Respond to it. Then back to the proposal. “Now, where was I?” So you go back and re-read the first paragraph. As you’re doing that, in walks your admin (or staff member, etc.). And so on. And so on. Right?
The proposal (or letter or ad or …) which should have taken a half hour to an hour to compose and get out the door, has now taken three hours–or even worse, didn’t get done because the only time you had available to do it was “eaten” up by other people and activities. You’ve been busy, but you haven’t been effective.
The number one quote that haunts me every day is from Alec McKenzie. “Nothing is easier than being busy, nothing more difficult than being effective.”
So, what’s the solution? The simple solution, which you probably already know, is to work in uninterrupted blocks of time. That may mean working at home or closing the door of your office (yes, it is okay to close your office door and not be accessible all the time) or, as I frequently have done, work at a restaurant like Panera Bread.
However, since I assume you already know that, I’d like to give you another idea that can help you actually do what you know you ought to do. At the end of every day, take five minutes (no more than seven) to answer three simple questions (and do this every day).
1. What did I do today?
2. What results did I achieve?
3. What progress did I make today on my needle movers for this month?
If you prefer, you can change the last phrase to “my top three (or, if you prefer, five) goals” or, “my strategic initiatives,” etc. But, personally, I love the phrase, “Needle movers,” from Christine Comaford. She defines a needle mover as a result that if you achieved it would radically change everything. For example, “Generate a 1,000 new leads this month.”
You determine the wording, but don’t you think that if you asked and answered those three questions every day for the next 30 days, that you would be infinitely more focused and productive? Absolutely! You’d be more focused on results than activity. And more importantly, you’d become incredibly focused on the three (to five) most important things that can move your business forward this month.
So, if you want to increase your productivity, why don’t you commit to asking these three questions at the end of each day. Then make sure you send me an email, 30 days from now, to share the results of what’s happened in your life and business because you asked these three questions.
To your accelerated success,
P.S. If you need help clarifying your needle movers and strategic initiatives, click here >>
If You Want to Master Change, Master This Statement
Posted by: | CommentsAre there some things in your life or business that you’d like to see changed–but haven’t? Or do you have any initiatives that never seem to get off the ground? Or, any employees that just never seem to get it?
Well, what if I told you there was one simple phrase that could change all of that. What if there was one phrase that could encapsulate everything you’d want to say to them. Or what if there was one phrase that you could use that would provide the motivation for change to occur–wouldn’t you want to know that phrase?
What if there was one phrase that could light the match of change and turn dreams into realities. What if there was one phrase that could turn ideas into products, concepts into services, and initiatives into competitive advantages.
Better yet, what if that same phrase could also melt pounds away, restore broken relationships, and create new ones–wouldn’t you want to know what that one phrase is?
I’d love to tell you what that phrase is, but first I have to warn you, you’ll probably be underwhelmed by it. The natural reaction(s) to the most powerful truths are almost always statements like, “I know that,” or “There’s nothing original about that,” or “That’s it?” which are all the wrong reactions.
Knowing and doing are two completely different things. Most business leaders know the concept, “Write from the prospective of your client and appeal to their needs/wants/desires.” Pretty basic, eh? Absolutely! But I bet you could randomly go to 10 websites and find that 9 out of 10 aren’t applying this basic concept (a simple idea that could radically change their revenues).
So, when I reveal this simple statement, make sure you don’t rush by it. Don’t be underwhelmed by it. Its simplicity is its power. That said, here’s the phrase that can change everything if you let it.
- “Nothing Changes Until Something Changes.”
That’s it! Simple. Sweet. Profound. And life-changing.
So, write it down. Put it on your desk or computer. Put it on your wall. Put it on the refrigerator door :-). Put it on your mirror. Put it on the wall of your conference room. Use it in performance reviews. Use it in staff meetings. Use it during strategic planning meetings. Use it whenever anything isn’t working the way you want it to. Simply remind yourself (and/or others),
- “Nothing Changes Until Something Changes.”
When Frank doesn’t get his project done on time say, “Frank, nothing changes until something changes. So what’s going to change?” When you’re evaluating how you managed your time last week, remind yourself, “Nothing changes until something changes.” When your marketing isn’t getting the kind of result you want say, “Team, nothing changes until something changes. So what are we going to change?”
At the end of the day, what matters most are results. Are you getting the results you want? Are you getting the leads you want? Is your pipeline as full as you want it to be? Are your employees producing at the level you want? Are you growing as fast as you want? Are you generating the profits you want? Are you getting the ROI or ROA that you want? Are your marketing dollars producing the results you want? Etc.
If not, then remind yourself,
- “Nothing changes until something changes!“
Own this simple phrase–and everything can change. Avoid it–and you’ll only prove the truthfulness of it!
Ready for a 100 Day Challenge?
Posted by: | CommentsAs you're coming to the end of this third quarter, have you noticed how easy it is to start checking out? Chances are that many of the goals you set last fall for this year are in many cases unattainable. Like most of us, you probably didn't anticipate how bad or how long the downturn of the economy would be. Nor did you anticipate fuel prices rising as high as they did. Plus, by the end of September, even in good years, it's often clear that most of us aren't going to hit a number of our goals just because few things ever work according to plan. So, what should you do?
Well, since checking out isn't a great option, a better one might be to re-challenge and re-energize your team to finish the year well. While none of us can change the past, we do have some power and ability to control/change the future. Furthermore, while some of the goals you and your teams set for this year won't be attained as they were originally envisioned, that doesn't mean you can't make significant progress towards them in this final quarter.
However, why wait another two weeks or so to reinvigorate your team? Why wait until the 4th quarter begins? Why not start immediately? For example, this coming Monday, September 22nd, marks 100 days until the new year. So, why don't you challenge yourself and your team to do something remarkable over the final 100 days of the year?
If you'd like to do that, I'd encourage you to take some time this weekend to envision what would be a big win for you and your company by the end of the year. In other words, what is it that needs to happen for you and your company to make '08 feel like it was a successful year? Do you need to
• Hit a certain revenue or profit goal?
• Reach a specific metric (widgets produced, houses listed, etc.)?
• Launch a new product?
• Establish a new joint venture?
• Create a sequential marketing campaign?
• Develop a new leadership development program?
• Attract a certain number of clients?
• Generate a strategy for next year that your whole team buys into? Etc.
No one can do it all. But what are the top three things you and your business need to accomplish over the last 100 days of this year?
Whatever they are, write them down. And then I'd encourage you to challenge your team to a 100 Day Challenge starting this coming Monday, September 22nd. In the midst of complexity, most of us crave simplicity. Three ideas. 100 Days. One great finish. Without a doubt, this one idea will help you refocus and re-energize your team.
So, what are the top three things that your business needs to accomplish in order to finish '08 well? Don't take too much time figuring this out though. Remember, you only have 100 Days left :-)
P.S. The 100 Day Challenge also works well for a personal goal or two. Do you need to lose some weight? Create more romance with your spouse? Reconnect with a child(ren)? Or do you want to learn a new language or how to speed read or how to cook or how to paint with acrylics? It's amazing what can happen in 100 Days! So don't forget to create a personal 100 Day Challenge as well.