It may seems odd to some outside the crafts arena, but the term “Stick to your Knitting” has some profound wisdom to share in mainstream American business. The term first came to popularity as one of the core principles behind Tom Peters “In search of Excellence”.
The term references the idea that a company (or a service provider) should remain true and faithful to the principles that founded it in the first place. It seems appropriate that in January, as we set goals and plans to paper, we remember this principle.
Diversification is thought to promote stability in a difficult economy, but at some point you have to decide what your core business is, and build any secondary businesses to support that. In a quilt shop, adding a line of sewing machines would support the original mission statement – but adding a line of vacuum cleaners does not.
There comes a time when you have to decide where you’re going to focus your energies. You owe it to your customers, your employees and yourself – not necessarily in that order – to make a plan and have your day-to-day activities support that goal.
Will everything get done? No – and that’s the point. The mark of success is not cleaning the desk, or getting everything on a to do list – it’s making sure that the right things are on that list, and that it’s narrow enough in focus to allow you to be successful. You can’t be all things to all people.
Has anyone else been goal setting this month?
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