Entering the New Year — Are You Stuck?

We’ve seen it too many times to count. A successful business loses key customers and can’t seem to replace them. The market turns on the company, and the sales pipeline turns to a trickle. The spark goes out on your strategy, and everyone just seems to be going through the motions.

Being stuck can sneak up on you. A long time ago (or so it may seem), you figured out how to make your business hum. You focused on execution. The formula worked. So you kept doing what you had always done. You were doing “it” well.

But then, somehow, the results stop coming through. Sales stagnate or decline. You lose a few customers. You lose a few employees. Morale goes down. Enough things happen and you realize that what worked in the past doesn’t work any more. Whatever “it” was that you were doing before isn’t working now.

Being stuck can be a scary thing. But like any challenge, being stuck can be an opportunity to revisit where you are and jump start a new chapter—or, if you do it now, a new year of growth for your company. Read on for ideas how to get un-stuck. -Mary Adams – 2007