Is something missing in your business? Sure, it might be revenue and profits and cash flow that first come to mind. Those are both symptoms and lagging indicators of the health of your business. What is the underlying cause of the problem? Sure, you can blame it on external factors such as changing costs and tariffs. Or you can say it’s because your customers are getting older and younger people don’t see things the same way. All quite reasonable explanations or excuses. But, companies that survive and thrive over decades are able to adapt and innovate (that’s AI in disguise?).
I’ve recently become aware of what was missing in Yellowstone park quite some time ago. It turned out to be gray wolves. What? Yes, gray wolves. The deer were expanding their numbers, moving around to new areas, eating the vegetation and causing changes to the banks of streams. In the late 1990s, the Forest Service reintroduced the gray wolf. The deer population was reduced, vegetation regrew, even beavers (I’m an MIT grad and the beaver, that marvel of engineering adaptability and innovation, is our mascot) came back, built their dams, and rerouted streams such that vegetation grew back. See https://www.rewildgroup.com/blog/2017/10/11/wolf-story for a bit more or watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q.
You are missing something in your business. Figure out what it is, reintroduce it, and you will make your business better than ever.
Now, a follow on story with Bison in Yellowstone is in the news. While Bison graze along a migratory path that includes the famous park, they also drop things along the way (you know what I mean). Those droppings are providing great fertilizer for the plants and making the new ones that grow 150 percent more nutritious. Yet another thing found missing in Yellowstone, that once reintroduced, produced a better, healthier, more sustainable ecosystem of plants and animals. See: https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/5477811-yellowstones-bison-buffalo-ecosystem-recovery-study/
What’s missing in your business that needs to be reintroduced to make it more healthy and prosperous?
As you rush to meet year end goals in the next 4 months, re-evaluate your strategic plan, make a new budget, and set goals, consider what is missing that needs to be reintroduced. It could be in one or more of these areas:
- Culture Elements
- Infrastructure Elements
- Leadership Elements
- Strategy Elements
Not sure what to do next, but feel something is missing? Let’s talk https://calendly.com/paul-ba
