Musings at Altitude

I spend way too much time with my head down working issues of today and not nearly enough time staring out the window, pondering the future and creatively planning how we build off of what we have (and what we are) today to get to that awesome sight on the horizon.  I’m most energized when I’m focused on tomorrow, and yet I’m seemingly incapable of spending any meaningful time pushing the issues of today behind and bringing that vision of tomorrow into full view.

In the next couple of months, we’ll begin building next year’s annual operating plan.  Historically, those plans have been a recap of what’s being done today and then doing more of it next year.  But this year has to be different.  For many businesses, the clear path to revenue that existed in past years is now a very murky journey that requires scraping off many layers of muck just to see what might be possible with lots of work.  “Muck scraping” is not a core competency of many businesses!  But somehow we have to get out of that muck in order to define a realistic plan for next year and then be more nimble than ever in sensing and adapting once that plan goes into execution.

So I’m going to take a lesson from our daughter’s dog Bow.  I’m going to seek some high ground to get a better view of today’s business battlefield.  I’m going to find a window into that future that I can look through.  I’m going to find that sunshine that illuminates the horizon.  And I’m going to force myself to spend time thinking about, dreaming about, and journeying to that future.

Maybe then that forward looking plan will be meaningful!