I grew up in Upstate New York in a small town not too far from the Canadian border.
The winters were brutal with up to 300 inches of snow and temperatures that dropped well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit many days, and often weeks, in a row.
It’s one of the places that Al Roker frequently comments on in his weather reports.
One of the nice things is that we had natural ice all winter long. It was perfect for ice skating, except for those days it was too cold to skate.
The rink was naturally divided into two sections. One section was for pick-up hockey games and the other was a place where people practiced their figure skating skills.
To this day I have always preferred watching hockey, although I really appreciate the athleticism and skills required to be a good figure skater.
Both are great sports, but there is a huge difference between the two.
Why are the crowds of spectators so different?
In hockey, you always know the score. Changes in the score are immediately evident and everyone knows it. It’s completely energizing.
There is a lesson for businesses here.
If you know your score all the time, it’s a lot easier to be excited about your business.
Knowing your score sets you up to respond and do something about the score if you find yourself behind.
It’s very easy to set up a scoring system for any part of your business, and it’s very necessary, yet so few people do it. Few know where they actually stand.
Create and follow a scoring system that is immediate and allows you to measure the effectiveness of your efforts. You can’t manage something you can’t (or don’t) measure.
What systems do you need to measure your business effectiveness? Figure them out and put them in place today.
Not quite sure? Stay tuned because I am going to lay out a proven plan for you in the next couple of days.
Remember, you only get results if you take immediate action on your ideas.
