I have taken some time over the Christmas/New Year period to reflect on my own personal, professional and business development goals.
I have also taken the opportunity to give thanks for the many blessings in my life and I hope you have done the same …
However, life experience tells me that many people have not (are you one of them?). If you are I encourage you to make some time in January 2008 to set your course for the year.
Please don’t let the extent of your personal, professional and/or business goals be limited to some grandiose headline statements, New Year’s resolutions or “wishes” that you dreamed up over a BBQ and a few beers!
As you move into 2008 may I remind you that your industry is competitive. The way things used to be done really isn’t going to cut it if you want to stay on the leading edge of your industry or indeed if you aspire to join the leaders in your industry.
One thing I know, you will need to be creative and not afraid to take more than your fair share of “calculated” risks. You will also need to have an abundance, not scarcity, of mentality.
The wonderful story reproduced below sums up the creativity that you need to develop if you want to take your business to the next level.
The Birth of a Shoe Company, as told by Kenneth Cole
Twenty years ago I wanted to open a shoe company with limited money. From experience I knew one had to get in quickly because so often new companies run out of cash flow before they get the chance to conduct business. I also knew it was easier to get credit from factories in Europe who needed the business than from American banks that didn't. So I lined up the factories, went to Europe, designed a collection of shoes, and returned to the States to sell them.
At the time, a shoe company had two options. You could get a room at the Hilton and become one of about 1100 shoe companies selling their goods. This didn't provide the identity or image I felt necessary for a new company, and it cost a lot more money than I had to spend. The other way was to do what the big companies do and get a fancy showroom in Midtown Manhattan not far from the Hilton. More identity, much more money too.
I had an idea.
I called a friend in the trucking business and asked to borrow one of his trucks to park in Midtown Manhattan. He said sure, but good luck getting permission. I went to the Mayor's office, Koch at the time, and asked how one gets permission to park a 40 foot trailer truck in Midtown Manhattan. He said one doesn't. The only people the city gives parking permits to are production companies shooting full length motion pictures and utility companies like Con Ed or AT&T. So that day I went to the stationery store and changed our company letterhead from Kenneth Cole, Inc. to Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. and the next day I applied for a permit to shoot a full length film entitled "The Birth of a Shoe Company."
With Kenneth Cole Productions painted on the side of the truck, we parked at 1370 6th Avenue, across from the New York Hilton, the day of a shoe show. We opened for business with a fully furnished 40 ft trailer, a director (sometimes there was film in the camera, sometimes there wasn't), models as actresses, and two of New York's finest, compliments of Mayor Koch, as our doormen. We sold 40 thousand pairs of shoes in two and a half days (the entire available production) and we were off and running.
To this day the company is still named Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. and serves as a reminder to the importance of resourcefulness and innovative problem solving.
Reproduced from www.kennethcole.com Great story eh?
So what you say!
Well, how about translating the lesson to your business.
Ask yourself what do I need to do to get to … (wherever it is you want to get to)?
(Don’t worry about practicalities at this stage – such as where’s the money coming from etc)
Then allow your brain to engage the possibility of you achieving what it is you want to see happen in 2008.
Then visualise yourself enjoying the results of your achievements. See what you are doing now that you have achieved it, where will you be, what will you be wearing, driving, who will you be with, what will you be eating etc
Then make a list starting with the end in mind (and work backwards) of what you need to have done to arrive at the place where you will have achieved your desired goal(s).
Be specific and detailed.
Then review and refine the plan and without procrastinating begin the journey. Or in other words, make a plan and then work the plan.
A key point here is to not allow knowledge or logic dictate what you can and cannot achieve.
I will leave you with the fascinating words of Albert Einstein who once said,
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
What have you decided?
Will you create the 2008 you want in your imagination and then plan and work to create that which you have dared to imagine!
I hope so, for you were born for a time such as this. Do seize the day! | 
