So, the start of the first full work week of 2013… did you make any resolutions for your business for the year ahead? How are you doing with them?
I wrote Watertight Marketing for business owners who want a step change in their business growth. Which usually means making a change (or 17!). For me, the changes that have really made a difference haven’t been those made in a fit January worthiness – they’ve been fundamental. And, the ones that have changed my life, and business, have been those that got me closer to my vision… my business dream, you might call it.
Just after I blogged my annual plea to business owners not to make marketing their New Year’s Resolution, I was delighted to be given permission to dream instead – by none other than the Harvard Business Review blog.
If you can’t picture where you’re heading, how will you know when you’ve got there?
Having a dream for your business is a powerful motivator, and can stem an important profit leak – referred to in the book as Leak #17 Expensive Exhaustion. If you don’t have a compelling ‘why’ it can be hard to maintain the momentum you need to take your business forward. This is especially true when market conditions are tough. You know you should be marketing your business, but without a vision it can be hard to summon up the energy.
While resolutions are about “shoulds,” dreaming is about hope — and who we may become. Dreaming is at the heart of disruption — it is only when we dream that we can hope to create something truly new, something that will overtake old habits, old customs, and old ways of thinking and being. And we all know by now that a disruptive path leads to a greater measure of success.
Instead of Making Resolutions, Dream, by Whitney Johnson
So, let me attach an addendum to last week’s post and join Whitney Johnson in asking you to take a moment to dream. Once you’ve done that, do one thing that takes you closer to it.
What’s your business dream? Tell me about your business dream and I’ll give you an idea for a marketing activity that could make it closer to a reality.
© Bryony Thomas | Cartoon by Simon Ellinas
Bryony Thomas
Author & Founder, Watertight Marketing
Bryony Thomas is the creator of the multi-award winning Watertight Marketing methodology, captured in her best-selling book of the same name. She is one of the UK's foremost marketing thinkers, featured by the likes of Forbes, The Guardian, Business Insider and many more, and in-demand speaker for business conferences, in-house sales days and high-level Board strategy days.
