Planning for Spring

I love the gang at Google. Earlier in the week they created a St. Patrick's Day Google logo. Today, it was tulips to celebrate the first day of Spring.

Yep, Spring. That time of year when all things are born anew. The time of year when grass turns green, trees bud and flowers bloom. I made a special point of listening to the bird singing this morning as I walked from a client's parking lot to their offices. Spring is bursting forth. But it didn't do it without some planning.

Last fall, all the plants began storing food for the long winter. They drew resources in from their leaves and stored them in their roots and bulbs. All these plants prepared for the coming season, and now they're moving forward with their plans.

Companies had the same opportunity. As the fourth quarter of 2007 was winding down, it was time to plan for the coming year. And if done correctly, about this time all those new initiatives are hitting the market place and you're eagerly awaiting the results.

Or. You didn't take the time to plan. You didn't properly allocate resources for the coming year. You didn't put down the fall fertilizer so the roots could grow strong and withstand a harsh winter. And now, as Spring arrives, your company is doing what it's always done — rolling along on the momentum it had, hoping for a better result than in the previous year.

Nature has an amazing way of weeding out the poor performers through natural selection. Separating the strong performers from the weaker performers takes time. Some plants will hold on for years before they finally succumb. The same is true with businesses.

In farming, seed corn companies create varieties of hybrid corn that can be planted late in the Spring and still deliver a decent harvest with a shortened growing season. If your company has arrived at the Vernal Equinox and doesn't have its plan in place for 2008, it's not too late. But you might want to get on it. Harvest is only 26 weeks away.