Blue Ocean Advisor's Blog

Your 2011 Scoreboard

blueoceanadvisors — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:42:14 +0000

Maybe I’ve been watching too many bowl games, but I can’t help thinking about my 2011 business planning in terms of a football game. (See my previous post, “Which Way to the End Zone?”)

You have a stretch goal for 2011, right? That’s the Super Bowl. Even if you get there and don’t win, you’ve had a darn good season if you make it to the Super Bowl.
Do you have a plan and actions you’ll take to achieve your 2011 goals? That’s your game plan.
Make a sale? You just scored a touchdown.
New business proposal? That’ your Red Zone offense.
New relationships, introductions and/or qualified leads? You’ve got the ball.
Permission to move forward in the sales process? That’s a first down.
No permission to move forward? Time to punt and move on to the next client prospect.

Set goals for each of these metrics (i.e., number of ball possessions, first downs, touchdowns, etc.) and keep track of them. Of course, you’ve got a limited amount of time to accomplish all this; that’s why we divide the year up into quarters, just like a football game.

To me, this makes perfect sense…but I’m a football nut. I’m developing a football-themed dashboard — no, let’s call it a scoreboard — and I’ll use it this year to keep track of my business objectives. I know it will turn out to be a useful tool to help me track my progress toward my business and personal goals. Maybe it will be useful to you too. Comment on this post or contact me directly if you’d like a free copy of my new scoreboard tool.

Which Way to the End Zone?

blueoceanadvisors — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:21:29 +0000

On the football field, it’s pretty easy to know where you stand. The great quarterbacks — Manning, Brady, Favre — seem to have an internal clock, a rhythm for the game. They just know when the 30-second clock is about to run out. Similarly, the great receivers always know where that first down marker is and they run their routes accordingly.

The rest of us can look up to the scoreboard to see a quick summary of the game — the score, the time remaining, the play clock. The end zone is pretty clearly marked. Down markers, yard lines and hash marks give us immediate reference points on the football field.

This may be the only way in which the NFL is easier than real life. In the real world, we don’t have the benefit of Jumbotron scoreboards, end zones and sidelines. It’s not so easy to know where you stand and how you are progressing toward your goals.

But it could be. I think it’s important to create your own scoreboard, your own down markers and end zones…and keep a close eye on them throughout the year. More on that next time.

Toss the Swimming Goggles

blueoceanadvisors — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:57:50 +0000

Why do people like swimming in the Cayman Islands? One reason is the crystal clear water. You can see 30 or 40 feet down. People who might be afraid of swimming in deep water elsewhere often find they enjoy swimming in the Caymans. It’s more than the exotic locale and good weather. In the Caymans, you can see what’s down there in the depths. There’s no fear of the unknown. It’s the same reason kids like swimming with goggles.

But life is not like swimming in the Caymans. If we are to succeed in life and business, we must swim through the unknown every day. And that can be scary — soundtrack music from Jaws scary. Instead of swimming goggles, we need faith — faith in our plans, in our abilities, in our family, in God. With that sort of faith, we can toss the goggles and jump in.

Entitlement: It’s Not Just For The Factory Floor

blueoceanadvisors — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:22:07 +0000

You don’t need to be a union member to be afflicted with an attitude of entitlement. I’ve known plenty of people without union cards who feel someone owes them something. Their company owes them a promotion. Their government owes them six more months of unemployment benefits. Their family owes them a share of grandpa’s wealth. Their school owes them a second chance. Some people even think their industry owes them something.

We tend to think of entitlement as a wage-worker mindset. The curse of the cubicle. But some of the worst cases can be found in the corner office. Think about the FORTUNE 500 senior executive who has come to expect his company will always be the industry leader. He can’t imagine a smaller, more entrepreneurial competitor might be able to provide a better service, build a better product. No outsider can teach him anything; he knows it all. He has grown accustomed to leading the industry and deep down he believes he deserves it. That, my friends, is entitlement…with cufflinks.

Let It Simmer

blueoceanadvisors — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:27:38 +0000

Some people seem to pride themselves on making fast decisions, thinking on their feet. I suppose it’s a good skill to have if you are a fighter pilot, a lion tamer or a trauma surgeon. But most of us should probably devote more time to our decisions, not less. Reaction is fast. Discernment takes time.

Case in point: Have you ever banged out an angry email and pressed send…only to wish you could take it back just a few minutes later?

It’s best to let big decisions simmer. My father-in-law puts it this way: “Let the phone ring one more time.” Think through your decision and all of its possible repercussions. Seek out wise counsel from someone you trust. Pray about it and make sure your decision aligns with God’s will. Most of my decisions taste best slow cooked, not flash fried.

Caught Swimming Naked

blueoceanadvisors — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:03:22 +0000

In 2008, a lot of people got caught swimming naked. They were splashing around in the deep end, having a good time without a care in the world. Then someone drained the pool. Many people suddenly realized they were exposed, naked.

When the economic recession hit, many people and organizations were financially unprepared. As a nation, we’d come to expect housing values to increase every year. The household savings rate was at an all-time low. Credit card debt was near an all-time high. It’s no wonder we’ve seen a flood of personal bankruptcies during the last two years.

I’m hoping our nation has learned something since then. Swimming is fun, but you might want to keep your trunks on. Save up for a dry spell. Live within your means. Let the Joneses go their own way. It’s time we become better stewards of God’s blessings.

President McCain?

blueoceanadvisors — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:00:36 +0000

I believe John McCain would have won the 2008 presidential election if the world economy hadn’t tanked in the late summer of that year. The economy had been humming along quite well under President Bush. But, when the subprime mortgage fiasco hit and the world economy came dangerously close to collapse, someone had to take the blame. We certainly couldn’t blame Wall Street. (Insert sarcasm emoticon here.) Instead we rewarded them with an unprecedented bailout. Just months away from the end of his presidency, Mr. Bush was an easy target. John McCain and the Republican party suffered by association.

The truth is: President Bush is no more to blame for the economic meltdown than President Clinton, whose administration put many of the regulations in place that led to the housing bubble and the subprime mortgage madness. Republicans are to blame. Democrats are to blame. Wall Street is to blame. Main Street is even to blame. Yes. Main Street. After all, it was working people and small business owners like you and me who were signing their names to all those risky mortgages. We all played our roles in creating this mess. So let’s stop pointing fingers. Instead, let’s use those fingers to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Let’s look to the future. Let’s work together to get our country back on the right track. It’s time to apply the lessons we’ve learned and move forward.

Playing By the Rules

blueoceanadvisors — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:26:34 +0000

I like classic cars. Cruisers from the ‘40s and ‘50s. Old muscle cars from the ‘60s and ‘70s. I heard about a guy who has a 1968 Camaro. It could be a real beauty, but he doesn’t take very good care of it. It sits in his garage covered with dust. One of the tires is usually flat. Maybe I should steal it. I’m sure I’d take better care of it than him. I’d appreciate it more — wash it, polish it, tune it up. After a while, it wouldn’t matter that I’d stolen the car. Everyone would see how much I loved it and they’d forgive my crime. The car would be mine. The Secretary of State would issue me the legal title for the vehicle. And the guy I’d stolen it from? He’d send me a hand-written note of congratulations.

Of course that would never happen. It’s ridiculous. But that’s the same logic many people use when arguing amnesty for illegal immigrants to the United States. I understand many people who came to America illegally have been living here peacefully and working hard for years. In many cases, they’ve become part of their communities, raised families and really improved their neighborhoods. Deep down, these are good people with good intentions. But that doesn’t change the fact that they broke the law. They didn’t follow the rules. They jumped the line ahead of many other people who were patiently waiting for an opportunity to come to America legally. I don’t think the United States should undermine its own laws by granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. If it does, you may soon see me driving an old Camaro.

Ellis Island Revisited

blueoceanadvisors — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:34:29 +0000

If I had a time machine, I’d like to travel back to Ellis Island in the late 1800s. I’d like to see all those immigrants — men and women who sold everything they had in the Old World for a chance at a better life in the New. Why do you think they crammed themselves onto those boats? Why did they travel halfway around the world with a few suitcases and a few dollars? Why did mothers and fathers say goodbye to their children and send them off to America?

It wasn’t because the government of the United States had guaranteed them a comfortable life. It wasn’t because they wanted the government to take care of them. It wasn’t because America owed them anything. They traveled to America for freedoms and opportunities that didn’t exist in the Old World. With hard work and sacrifice, they knew they could prosper here.

As a nation, we’ve strayed too far from these ideals. Today many of us want the government to take care of all our needs — our healthcare, our employment, the education of our children. Personal responsibility and opportunity have been replaced with laziness and entitlement.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Just as the Ellis Island immigrants chose to come to America for freedom and opportunity, we can choose to take back America for freedom and opportunity. And we don’t have to travel halfway around the world to do it. We need to take a stand for values and ideals that this great country was founded upon; freedom and values we fight wars for!

A Second Chance in the Voting Booth

blueoceanadvisors — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:03:27 +0000

Think back to the fall of 2008. If you are a conservative American like me, you were probably aghast at what was happening in Washington, D.C. Wall Street bailouts. A Democratic majority in the House and Senate. President-elect Obama. Remember how defeated you felt?

Now compare that to the hope we feel today. Second chances don’t come around often, but we seem to have one before us now. In a stunning reversal of public opinion, our country has capitalized on an amazing opportunity during the November mid-term elections. The question is: Will these newly elected legislators govern as promised?

We have an opportunity to put America on the right path again. We’re pretty far off track, but we can find our way back and move this country forward again. To do so, we needed to elect the right people in November and now we must hold them accountable for their actions. Then, in 2012, we’ll need to hold President Obama accountable for his actions — both the campaign promises he kept and the ones he didn’t.