There are days right now that all I see are trees – the bark, the leaves, the roots. And it takes that focus, attention to detail and can do spirit to keep the ship afloat and moving in the right direction. But I need to force myself to take a step back, inhale slowly, exhale slowly and to see the big picture…at least once in a while.

When there is scarcity it is imperative that limited resources go to the core – the heart and soul of your business. Why did you start the business? What are your personal goals today and in five years? How do those goals tie into the direction of your company? Answers may include key people within your team, key clients, your family and/or key initiatives.

Seeing the forest through the bark, the leaves and the roots is refreshing and inspiring. Not to mention it keeps you and your company moving in a unified and effective direction.

Each of our businesses has an ideal blend of doing work with in-house labor vs. with subcontractors. It is a critical mix that affects our client experience and our quality of work. It is also a critical mix that has a direct impact on our cash flow and bottom line. Expect to pay a premium of about $10,000-$20,000 per year for work done in-house vs. by subcontractors (assuming they move at the same pace) – for insurance, time off, etc. There are times this premium is worth every penny. There are other times it is not. Take inventory of when it is worth the premium and when it is not.

As you see your production lead times shorten with winter, the holidays and the market; keep this critical blend in check. Do more work with in-house labor to keep your A-level carpenters busy and productive. But don’t swing too far that way or you will be putting at risk your entire team.

This market is going to take some time to rebound – too long to have this blend and other key metrics of your business not be balanced.

Wow – what a week in the markets. It’s tough enough to run a business much less to deal with the personal and business challenges raised by market uncertainty and turmoil. BUT what a great time to take inventory, to get back to basics, to rely on your raving fan clients and to hold your subs and suppliers truly accountable. My first reaction to uncertainty and turmoil is confusion, anger, frustration – but after getting through that initial phase, I turn to solutions and to action steps. Now is the time to take action, now is the time to get your ducks in a row, now is the time to focus on things you can control. Because that is what will separate the winners and the losers during this challenging economic time.

One of the best decisions a business can make is to diversify. One of the worst decisions a business can make is to diversity. Knowing when to stay on the highway or get off on the side road is generally where genius occurs (or luck). If you share you diversification idea, I will give you the “good bad and ugly” of your idea. Needless to say you should make your own decision but please make it in an intelligent / thoughtful manner. I have seen more business go out of business due to bad diversification decisions than the reverse. So what are you thinking about?