GALT Consulting LLC

Invocation from Rotary Meeting today...

"Gracious Heavenly Father,  

As we celebrate together the end of another year, we offer our thanks to you.  

We thank you for challenges you presented us that reminded us of what is truly important in our lives.  

We thank you for the times when things didn’t quite go our way as you remind us that true fulfillment comes from following Your Mission, not ours.  

We thank you for these people who surround us, energize us, and challenge us.  

We thank you for this Country where freedom still reigns and we have the power to question our leaders.  

We thank you for the brave men and women who answer the Call and make sacrifices for our Nation, our People, and our God.  

We ask for your continued guidance and for the wisdom to know that our real needs will be met even when our desires are not.  

And God’s people said…   Amen"

I have often stated that there is a gap between theory and industry.  Part of the problem is the volume of information that is available out there.  Some the information is very valuable.  Some of it is misleading and potentially damaging.  How do you know what is good?  How do you find the time to keep up with it all?

Randy Mayes, owner of the Success Coach Network, and I have partnered up to provide an answer to these questions.  It is called Leadership Book of the Month.  Subscribers receive a book on organizations / leadership / personal success each month along with a summary of key information (3 Key Concepts) and ways to apply the information (3 Action Steps). 

Visit http://www.leadershipbookofthemonth.com to learn more and to subscribe!

If you are in doubt that we are entering into a completely "new economy", consider the changes in the way we are communicating today.  Specifically, let's consider broadcast TV.  I predict the end of broadcast television as we know it by the end of this upcoming decade.

As a proud member of Generation X, this would seem like a staggering prediction 15 years ago when families would change their schedule around what was to be showing on television that night.  Yes, we had VCR's, and they got used, but as a whole, people know what night their favorite shows were on. 

Then the DVR came into existence.  Now we record programs much more easily (no more "is this tape empty?").  In fact, many DVR's find shows it "thinks" we would like and records them just in case.  As software and hardware technology shifts the control of the entertainment center from the airwaves to the PC, we have the increasing ability to watch what we want to watch, when we want to watch it, where we want to watch it. 

Have you considered the impact on this with your business and the economy?  Not long ago, companies could launch high dollar ad campaigns to win over the consumer because almost everyone was watching.  GoDaddy and Pepsi used extensive marketing campaigns during the Super Bowl to win over consumers.  This year, Pepsi is not even going to advertise during the Super Bowl.

The impact is huge.  It means that small businesses can have a louder message to consumers.  My friend and communications expert, Matthew Block, points out that the communications model for the world is actually regressing.  100 years ago, people did business within their village based on personal relationships.  Then broadcast media and newspapers shifted us to a brand society where we focused on the loudest and most creative message.  Today, we are going back to the village, but this time our village is much bigger and not based geographic location.  The internet and the wide spread use of social media and cellphones have created virtual villages. 

This is truly a New Economy.  As you plan for 2010 and beyond, consider the impact the market will have on your business and impact you want your business to have on the market!

A good friend of mine, communications expert Matt Block, recently told me about a study that showed that rats in a maze almost always accelerate as they get closer to their objective.  He went on to relate this to people working toward an objective and he came up with a brilliant observation.  If a person wants to always move quickly toward their objectives, they need to establish shorter objectives along the way.  In other words, if it is your dream to open up a business, you might not move quickly toward that goal because it is pretty far away.  However, if you break up the goal in "bite-sized" pieces, you will move more quickly (ex: set up the LLC, make a logo, meet 10 other business owners and discuss starting a business, etc). 

Imagine that everyone lives in a huge, dark room.  Throughout the room, opportunity is placed in various spots (and moved around from time to time).  You have only 2 things that help you navigate; a flashlight (your knowledge) and your memory of where you have been in the room (your experience).  If you are standing in one place, you can only see as far as your flashlight will shine and you aren't learning the landscape of the room.  However, which direction do you move?  The answer is that it really doesn't matter as long as you move and use your flashlight to light the way.  The important thing is that you do move so that you can discover the opportunities waiting in the dark.

The point here is simple.  Getting closer to your goal is only one step away...  even if you don't know what that goal is.