Our topic this month is “Strategic Planning Versus the Holiday Hangover.” To avoid the “holiday hangover,” it is vital to have strategic planning done before the new year begins so that it starts off with a bang. Instead of wasting the first month of the new year battling a holiday hangover and trying to create strategy at the same time, it is better to have strategic planning done before the new year begins.
Part of that strategic planning and the business operation must include ignoring partisan politics and doing something else instead.
Getting Caught Up
People tend to get very caught up in partisan politics during and after an election year.
If they’re on the side of the party that won, they’re elated and are trumpeting the victory everywhere they can. They see the future very optimistically. For the party that didn’t win, they’re grumbling, complaining bitterly that the winning party must have gotten there by devious means, and forecasting that things will only worsen.
There’s nothing wrong with all of this—we live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. Unfortunately, these views tend to act as lenses through which the person holding them views everything. They tend to miss what’s really there.
The Advantages
So what’s the “instead” we’re talking about? It’s ignoring the partisan politics and viewing the factors in the environment that could be advantageous for their company.
These are the types of things we’ve been talking about in the previous two articles. We’re at the very beginning of an economic upswing, which will contain elements that just about any company could take advantage of. They won’t be advantageous, though, unless business leadership pushes aside partisan views and actually sees the positive changes on the way.
In the example we’ve been using this month—of the plumbing supply company—business has probably been trending downward for the last couple of years. Growing inflation has made the purchase of tools and materials increasingly painful, while their prospects and customers have been hurting for business due to a weakening real-estate market.
Now, With an optimistic economic scene on the horizon, the real estate market is going to turn around. Plumbing contractors will have more work, and our plumbing supply company will have more business from prospects and customers.
However, the plumbing supply company won’t truly succeed in this new environment if they don’t observe the positive and beneficial factors so they can benefit from them. They should be taking actions such as tracking new and remodeling construction in their area and reaching out to the plumbing contractors on these jobs. But if they’re wrapped up in “doom and gloom” because their political party didn’t win, they won’t be looking for these opportunities and may very well miss them.
No Matter What…
No matter your political viewpoint, put it aside and observe for yourself what’s going on, and figure out exactly how your business can take full advantage of the actual current trend.
In 2025…ignore partisan politics and do this instead!
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