What’s in a name?

Les Barker, poet & singer

When people start a business, one of the first things they try to come up with is a name. Why are names so important? Is a table still a table if you call it a chair? Comic poet and songwriter Les Barker has a piece called An Infinite Number of Occasional Tables —  because sometimes it’s a chair.

Seriously. More than ten years ago now one of our favorite clients decided the time had come to reconsider their name. They had almost 50 years of history and awards behind it. But, the name did not reflect what they did now.

After a series of focus groups, the decision was made to keep the most important part – the family name and update the rest. They went from Hastings Telephone Answering Service to Hastings Communication Services. Nothing else changed. They still have remarkable service and win awards. It is a great story and a unique family business.

We chose the name Owner’s View for our blog because it emphasizes what we consider critical to successful business management — taking the owner’s view. Often we refer to it as the 40,000 ft. view because it is too easy to get stuck in the mud and losing sight of the goal of a stable, profitable transferable business.

Getting stuck means you never see the whole picture. It means being reactive and not proactive. And, it can mean the difference between surviving and thriving. We recommend that anyone who is serious about creating a growth business spend at least 10% of their time each month thinking and planning — about 16 hours.

Any less, and you are only getting the manager’s or employee’s view: find the work, do the work, administer the work. Most owners will burn out before too long or let the business go under if they do not spend some time looking holistically at their business.

Considering every decision and action as it may affect another part of the business results in a sustainable, profitable business.  Upcoming posts will help you take the 40K view and keep your priorities in perspective. (Our tag line.)

What do you do to make sure you take the “Owner’s View”?