It's Time to Speed Up

I spend a lot of time driving fast from the NH beach to work in Boston, frequent trips to Tufts and end-of-the-week...like this afternoon...3-hour expeditions to VT.  As a result, I frequently trade in cars just before the time of the dreaded "you need new tires and brakes" checkup.  

As everyone knows, Boston traffic is beyond wicked, and as a result, I leave NH early-early for a one-hour commute avoiding the prime-time commute of two hours, so in my selection of cars, I'm hyper focused on Safety, Speed and Comfort...all as my #1 criteria.

Commuting also provides me with a lot of time to station flip between Bloomberg, CNN and the local WBZ news thinking through how any of what I listen to applies to me, our consulting business, our clients or my students.  As a result, I've heard the highly overused word "uncertainty" hundreds of times, and quite honestly, have been part of the problem myself by using the word among clients, in speeches and on campus.

UNCERTAINTY IS THE WRONG WORD!

Uncertainly speaks to caution, to slowing down, to more consideration, and, most probably, what we are seeing in this fall's planning sessions, not taking any decisive action with comments such as "let's wait and see", or "let's take another look at this in February after we've analyzed our 2025 results."

That thought process of inaction, delay and further consideration even after most of the facts are in is the worst thing we should be doing right now!
  

It's Time to Speed Up

In terms of the macros of inflation, jobs, technology improvements and general cash reserves, for the majority of markets, it's a great time to be in business, so why not take the time right now to plan through the details of what it would take to speed up 2026 results.

• Hire Early. If you're thinking of hiring one salesperson for Q1, plan on hiring two.  Go through all the standard hiring criteria that you normally would do but ramp up that process right now to be in position to bring on one or two more salespeople in January. The talent pool that is available right now is very strong.   
• Stay Focused.  Focus on staying on the highway and don't get distracted by taking any side roads, that although they may appear to be easier or more convenient, do not lead to where you're headed in the longer term for 2026 revenue or market share, 
• Hustle.  Right now: think about that word for just 5 seconds.."HUSTLE".  It connotes the power of moving fast!  It requires action from everyone on the team!  It demands much more than a simple "buy-in" . It becomes the culture of your team to become obsessed with their performance and the success of your customers!    

Just a few thoughts this morning, as I head out to a sales meeting!

Have a superb weekend!

It's time to begin your business planning for what lies ahead in 2026.

Think about taking a day out in October to tune up your business and sales plans.  Here's our free how-to ebooks for a few ideas:

"Writing the Winning Sales Plan"
"Writing the Winning Business Plan"
"Writing the Winning Marketing Plan"
"The Marketing of Me"

We outline ideas on structure, models, process funnels, productivity tools and how to recruit, hire and onboard the best people.  A few hands-on guides for real managers written by real managers with their fingers in the dirt.  

Connect with me any time at jack@derbymanagement.com and let's discuss your own 2026 planning!