As I write this, I’m in my home office, looking out at the Pacific Ocean.  Waves are high today.  If it gets a little warmer, I’ll probably go out swimming in the surf later.  

If you’ve ever done that, then this analogy is going to make sense.  The economy and business today sometimes seems like you are swimming in the surf.  There are times when you make some progress and then a riptide pulls you off in another direction.  Your instinct might be to fight it, but that’s where the trouble is.  Just go with it, riptides bring you back in too.  And then a wave crashes on your head and you have to fight to get a breath of air.  

So, here’s the business analogy.  For a long time, business was just swimming downstream on a fast moving river.  You had to dodge a few rocks along the way, but you were working in the current and all was well.  Now it’s turbulent and constantly changing.

The last two weeks, for me anyway, have been definitely swimming in the surf for my business.  When it gets like that, I always look at successful models in the past and current.  What works?

Today, I was digging around researching the most successful entrepreneurs.  What did they do that got them results even when the odds were against them?  Here’s what I found:

o    They all started with a clearly stated goal/objective.  THEY were in charge of the outcome.

o    They were extremely flexible & had a big skillset to choose from in order to achieve the objective.

o   They put a big emphasis on communication and had a strong awareness of feedback - what was working and what wasn’t - in that communication.

o   They enjoyed a challenge.

o   They had skills and abilities that had become second-nature to them.  

o   They worked with precision, purpose and skill.

o   They kept working at a problem with different approaches until they figured out what the problem actually was.

It all starts with a clear, understandable and succinctly stated objective.  that’s what I’ve observed in my successful clients as well.  The guys who know what they want, keep a level head, good communication skills and are flexible to change are the ones who are coming out way ahead in this uncertain time.