It's a New Year: Let's Blow Some Stuff Up

Okay so we've worked our way through the worst part of the worst recession in our lifetime. We've practiced a relentless focus on our business, watched our expenses, kept the company profitable through a variety of challenges from weak retail to financial backers who think a bible translation means English, Spanish or French. Everybody on the team deserves credit.

While focus is a great thing that keeps us on-task and taking care of immediate business it should not be the enemy of innovation. God gave us two eyes, and I believe that gives us the ability to keep one on the task at hand while the other one looks to the future.

Without taking our "eye" off our immediate needs, we need use the other one to take a fresh look at some worn-out assumptions, blow up some old programs, and continue to simplify our business. This is a well-run profitable company, but I believe there are places where we're expending energy for little return. Since we're all doing the work of more than one person we just don't have the time for that.

Over the next few blog posts I'm going to lay out a case for narratives we should shift, assumptions we should throw out, and programs we should end. I have my list (see below), but I'm really more interested in yours! If you have a "stupid things we should stop doing" list feel free to comment on this blog, send me a private email, or drop off your submission in an anonymous envelope in HR (although if you're that paranoid you might want to use gloves so we can't track your fingerprints). ;-)

My List

1. Performance Reviews - I think its time we "just said no"
2. Marketing/Publicity Job Titles - Its an old system that needs an overhaul
3. Expense Budgets - Hint: zero-based and grounded in an activity plan
4. The Equal Opportunity Narrative - I remember 1964 and this ain't it!

Okay, I've gone first. If you want to add to this series you know what to do. Feel free to join the conversation.

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