There is a terrible disease that infects businesses. It can happen at any time to any company. The disease is stale-itis. It is an infection starts as a business stagnates and spreads when it becomes stale. Ideas and strategies that once were so current, even visionary, become tired; so last century. The staff, once so energetic and ambitious, become de-motivated and de-energized. Products and services, once exactly what the target market wanted and needed, have been surpassed by competitors. Observing and diagnosing stale-itis is easy. We can observe the pace of activity slowing; people move zombie-like, voices drone on and on. There is no sense of urgency. Everything is relaxed and casual just going through the motions. Everything is good enough. Stale-itis is a creeping disease. It starts quietly, with a stale idea that is considered good enough and it goes unchallenged then slowly, slowly grows and spreads, eventually rotting a company to the core. If left untreated it can be fatal. Fortunately there is a simple anecdote. The solution is a prescription for two little pills the little blue one is Challengamyicin, the little yellow one is Goalasprin. Goalasprin helps the business create meaningful goals while Challengamyicin inspires the team to meet the challenge. You take one first thing in the morning, the second, after breakfast. That way, you will be fortified against the infection by the time you get to work in the morning. Once those pills are absorbed into the system, ideas that used to be good enough just arent acceptable. They are honed and sharpened. A new sense of urgency raises the bar that the competition is not prepared to leap over. The faster pace causes clients to instantly bond tighter and tighter because they know there isnt a vendor out there that will consistently do more for them and offer more value. The reinvigorated company creates new and better ways of serving the clientele. Take a stale-itis self-diagnosis once a quarter. Determine if the infection possibly inhabits your company. If things are slowing down reinspire, rechallenge, respond with Challengamyicin and Goalasprin then call me in the morning. |
