This week’s focus: I’m currently working with a couple of clients that are looking to re-ignite their stagnant sales performance. Faced with poor top-line performance they are eager to look for radical, new, ‘blue sky’ strategies.

Sometimes that is necessary, but in 80% or more of the projects I work on it’s not required. Most poor performance is not a question of doing the wrong things, but is down to a lack of focus on doing the right things well enough.

Like a branch that’s stuck in the eddies of a river, and which only requires a gentle nudge to get it travelling downstream again, most major improvements in business performance come from a refreshed focus on what you already do rather than a major leap in activity.

Where have you been busy pursuing radical new projects and ideas when you should be focused on ensuring that your core business is achieving its potential?

Off The Record: Moving The River by Prefab Sprout

You surely are a truly gifted kid

But you’re only as good as

The last great thing you did

© Stuart Cross 2013. All rights reserved.