Have you heard of this latest craze on the Internet, they call it the “Birdbox Challenge”.  It’s inspired by a series on Netflix where people have to stay blindfolded in order to protect themselves from going crazy or some evil spirit.  (Full disclosure, I haven’t watched it).  But the challenge is for people to do crazy things blindfolded, like driving a car.  Foolishness, I know.

Interestingly, there is a parallel for business owners.  In this video I describe three ways that business owners run their business “birdbox style”.  In other words, they are blindfolded to what is going on.  Here’s a quick summary:

1. They run their business without KPIs. Key Performance Indicators are critical for businesses to know where things are headed.  I call them the “early warning system” for detecting issues.  A good set of KPIs can predict whether the coming month or quarter (depending upon your business model) is going to be good or not so good.  And may afford you the time to address it before things go awry.

2. They run their business without a budget.  When you run your business without a budget, you are like a ship navigating without a map and compass (or GPS, to be more current).  A realistic budget should define both your income and your expense targets.  When you venture away from those, you put your business at risk.

3. They run their business without a clear vision.  Helen Keller once said “what good is sight without vision?”.  A leader must set a clear vision for their organization.  How can you if you’ve reached your destination if you don’t know where you are going?

Let me help you take the blindfolds off

I work with clients to solve these and other business problems.  If you would like to find out more, contact me today.