Finding Focus

We have two strategic planning sessions scheduled this week (and two more next week) so I decided to write about focus, which is a central theme of strategic planning – especially when we talk about setting sales goals and defining target markets.

So I went to my favorite royalty-free website to find a good photo for this week’s update when I found this image:

Clearly this is a photographer’s photo. He held a camera lens up to the horizon and captured this image with the inverted path in focus. Now take a closer look when the image is cropped and rotated and compare the path to the Milestone icon:

I just think the similarity is pretty cool. Over the years people have made many comments about the Milestone logo. Some say it looks like an “M,” but it always makes me think of a fork in the road, which also relates to strategic planning.

More often than not strategic marketing decisions can be boiled down to a choice. And like many choices with unknown outcomes, it doesn’t really matter which path you choose. It’s more important to set a goal, commit to a plan of action, track your results, and adjust as needed.

Getting back to the subject of focus, one of the greatest benefits of going through Milestone’s strategic marketing planning process is helping business owners find their focus.

We all have a tendency to get distracted. Whether it’s managing the day-to-day operations of the business, or it’s chasing new and exciting opportunities that go beyond your capacity, a lack of focus can become a drag on your company’s growth and/or reduce your profit margin.

If you struggle with finding focus in your business, then an outside perspective may be just what you need to get your company back on the path to prosperity.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.