Some years ago, a friend and colleague offered a valuable insight into how he viewed an area of interest to him.  His family was in the book publishing and manufacturing business.  After college and an early career in sales, he joined the family business, for which he eventually took responsibility.  In the ensuing years and well into his retirement, he was captivated by books.

I visited him at his upstate New York home, and he took me into his personal library.  I commented on the sheer volume of books he had.  I asked him how long he had been a book collector.  He responded with a smile and told me “Well, I’m not really a collector; more of an accumulator”.  I was confused and he went on to explain that a rare book collector has specific objectives in mind, while an accumulator simply reacts to opportunities to own certain books as they come along.  In other words, collectors work with purpose, an intention and a plan.  Accumulators simply react to opportunities as they become known.

In my work facilitating strategy and planning sessions with key executives, I notice a similarity.  A key question is this:  Is your business acting as an “accumulator”; reacting to circumstances and opportunities as they present themselves, or as a “collector” moving your enterprise forward with a purpose, an intention and a plan?

Clearly, a certain amount of success can be made by reacting to opportunities as they come along.  But if your aim is business results that far exceed the competition and are sustainable over time, it’s hard to beat “the PIP”; purpose, intention and plan.  And a good way to start is with a senior team strategy and planning retreat. 

For more information and to get started, contact me at joe@ajstrategy.com.