culled from:bizjournal.com
In the 2009 Disney movie ” Up”, one of the main supporting characters is a funny, wacky and very loyal dog named Doug. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll recall that Doug and the other dogs had a clear weak point of focus: squirrels.
Whenever they saw a squirrel, regardless of what they were chasing, they’d immediately be distracted and after the squirrel.
Of course, if you’ve ever taken a dog on a nice leisurely walk around town, you know this distraction all too well. And it’s not just dogs.
What’s your squirrel?
My squirrel is anything new: books, exercise, sales plans, whatever. But I must admit, especially in terms of professional and physical improvement and discipline, I used to be consistently tripped up by the squirrel of newness.
New always seemed better. It looked better, smelled better and just seemed like a better way. This was especially true when compared to the boring, stale plan I had been working so diligently for two or three solid weeks!
The problem is that while new can be better (though it often is not), better isn’t the issue — consistency is. Think about it. Even if the new idea is a better one, how long will you apply it before the next new one comes along? It’s like getting city mileage when you should be getting highway mileage.
Do you change your sales plan or approach too quickly, because you learn of a new one that seems better? Do you change your workout plan too quickly because you learn about a new one that seems better? Do you have a bunch of unfinished books because new seems better?
Defeat the squirrels
When it comes to your sales efforts, in particular, give your plans time to develop and truly provide enough feedback to determine if change is truly justified. Don’t stay in a stale, stagnating and boring plan, but don’t change just for the sake of change either.
Effecting positive change is not an event, it is a process that takes consistent and intentional effort in order to become entrenched into the culture of an individual, team or company.
Whatever change you are after, stay the course long enough to really know if it’s the right one. Then look back and make the adjustments in a careful and purposeful manner. And watch out for squirrels! They’re everywhere along the pathway of positive change.
