Most businesses today, much like people in general honestly, are running in many different directions. Heck, I bet you even know folks that have multiple calendars and might actually have a cardiac arrest if they lost their smart phone, right? Let’s not kid ourselves, business leaders are finding less time each day to focus on true strategic planning, while daily grind activities drain their resources more and more; no matter how hard they fight. What happened to technology innovations making life easier?

Some common causes may include – increased regulations (can you say healthcare?), balancing cash flow with increased businesses taxes and other costs of doing business, relationship management (client, vendor, employee, etc.), staff turnover, increased competition from a global market, and much more. What’s interrupting you on a regular basis?

However, I bet you also can identify with a handful of businesses – yours or ones you interact with in some way – that are thriving. If you’re like me, you may be asking – What are they doing that I’m not doing? Why are people (businesses) knocking down their door while I can’t get one potential client to make a decision? The answer to their effectiveness may be in their Business Diet Plan.

It amazes me when I consider the time I personally lost 30 lbs!! That’s a lot of unnecessary excess weight. It was hard work too; one that required a sustainable PLAN. Periodically, I put some of this weight back on, but I’ve mostly kept off the excess weight because my plan had long-term steps and increased health education that I’ve been able to apply along the way.

Below are some things I learned through this life experience, some of which you might want to apply in order to turn your business around toward a cycle of sustainable prosperity.

- Education is important. I learned that there are good and bad carbs. For the longest time I thought carbs in general were just bad. Not true. I learned other things too, but this taught me to seek outside, objective help that caused me to question the norm. Are you trying to solve your greatest issues alone?

- Quantity is more important than Quality. Depending on your business, you might want to be careful with this one. However, I learned that I can actually eat foods that I really do enjoy but aren’t necessarily “healthy” foods. To do so, I need to manage my intake. I think this applies well in business, teaching that we need to carefully consider what and who has access to our time and other resources. Hmmm, is that Admin really an expensive position? Not if you are able to increase the quantity of time to close more business and/or retain existing clients. In some ways this can be seen as a simple operations assessment.

- “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”, so metrics need to be in place. For me, it’s the scale. In businesses, this could be a software tool or even a whiteboard with goals. Today, how do you gauge whether you’re on track or not?

- Accountability is vital. To this day, my wife and I partner in this weight loss plan. Without her, I would revert back to my old ways and likely need professional help sooner than later. Who knows your strategy, and calls you when you miss the mark?

These are just a few principles I’ve learned from a personal diet plan experience. How about you, what keeps you on track? If you struggle in this today, who can you call right now or what can you change (incrementally, small bites) that will get you on the path to success? Learning from your similar experiences would be rewarding, so feel free to share some thoughts with us. All the best in your endeavors!

Author: Keith German

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