The fourth quarter is already well underway – and it won’t be long before we see the familiar Christmas decorations in our stores.
So, what is your “Spring Step”?
As the year winds down we can either join the crowd by using the all to often used phrase of “let’s leave the decision to next year” or you can swim up-stream and use this time as an opportunity to make the call and get ahead of the competition?
What, then, are the topical and typical decisions/actions to get you ahead?
- Markets
- Make that call – the worst is that you get a no thank-you!
- Motivate your sales team – short-term incentives (not only financial) hit a nerve, which drives action
- Move that slow-moving stock (at cost plus) – cash is king!
- Innovate and implement – now!
- Margin
- Use the mantra – “to get the biggest bang for every buck” – this is not cliché but a real way to manage costs
- AI – start small and get some quick wins.
- Management
- Motivate, motivate and motivate again
- Talk often, talk tactics, talk actions and get buy-in.
Strategy is key to defining your vision and plotting the future (which is subject to factors largely out of your control). What is in your control is reacting to change and making decisions based on stressed, tested risks and opportunities.
See my next message on this topic.