“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” -- Aristotle

"If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. He needs education to turn him around." -- Jim Rohn

"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him." - Booker T. Washington

"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers." -- James Thurber

“Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference.” --William James

“There is no beginning too small.” --Henry David Thoreau

“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know you trust him.” --Booker T. Washington

“The impulse to dream had been slowly beaten out of me by experience. Now it surged up again and I hungered for books, new ways of looking, and seeing.” --Richard Wright

“Catch people in the act of doing something right.” --Ken Blanchard

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -- Will Rogers, Legendary entertainer, humorist and author

You are swamped, and your team is busy to the hilt.

What do you do? Let your idea wait or time out?

I hope not! Could you not enlist help of someone who might activate and develop your idea(s), harness available excess capacity within the organization, and take your ideas to fruition?

But, how's your bottom line growing? Or, is it? How's the cashflow?

Are you getting all the business possible from your current customers?

Or, is your competition in there, too?

I hope not! How close are you to your customers? Are you just a product/service supplier, or do you position yourself as a solution provider — reducing their pain; helping them solve their problems; enhancing their outcomes? What else can you do for your customers? Have you grabbed all the business your customers have? How do you ensure their loyalty to you so your competition won't lure them away from you? Do your customers look up to you for help — need for other products and services, solutions, business strategy, and so on ..... ?

What values do your employees exhibit in dealing with your customers?

Do they simply carry out management orders and just do their tasks, or are they also given an opportunity to contribute ideas and think of creative ways to serve customers better?

Do your employees understand your value system, and practice your values? Are they aligned to the purpose of the organization?

How well are your values communicated to employees and in turn to your customers?

How are your values being reflected in all of your customer transactions/interactions?

Business development initiatives — in conjunction with your product, service delivery, marketing and sales teams,

• identify and develop additional revenue avenues;
• design new solutions and services;
• repackage current offerings;
• create strategies to get more of your customers' business;
• evaluate and augment your programs to enhance value to customer;
• do something different to enhance results:
  • uncover possibilities;
  • exploit opportunities;
  • capture new marketplace demands;
  • exploit new trends & technologies;
  • differentiate yourself.

Customer focus — promoting strategies such as:

• Is your business transaction-oriented, or relationship-focused?
• Do your customers keep buying from you?
• Do your customers act as your ambassadors in the marketplace?
• Do you know how much your customers' need you fulfill?
• How is their experience in dealing with your organization? Perhaps, it will improve if your customers, prospects and visitors always have a satisfying and memorable experience in every signle contact with your organization; if you create an emotional bond with them, they will love to do all their business with you.

Employee development and performance improvement:

• Are your employees committed to your business and giving their best?
• How is the morale among your employees?
• Do you get value from your investment in them?
• Do they simply carry out orders, or are they motivated to take initiatives and produce new ideas?

Your employees are your greatest asset. You can align your troops to your purpose, by articulating and promoting your business vision; by helping employees appreciate their role in the organization (as opposed to feeling like a proverbial cog-in-the-wheel); by eliciting everyone's commitment to realize your vision.