2020! Not just a new Year, but a new DECADE! New Year's always is a time of resolutions, just look at the packed gym parking lots. Can't find a space? Not to worry, just show up in April and your odds will increase 2x that the excitement of New Year's fitness resolution may subside. It's an on-going challenge: The fight to make positive change vs. the tremendous discipline needed to make that very change possible. It's hard!
Businesses confront the same challenges:
How can we not just SET goals that take us to a new & better place, but put the needed changes in place to move us in that direction?
What if those changes do not work?
How much money will those changes cost?
What behavior changes from the team will be needed to make it work?
What new processes will be needed to support the needed changes?
Business is a continual problem solving exercise. Each question that gets answered prompts another question, and the answers are all intertwined with each other, and sometimes at odds with each other.
There's one area of bedrock concepts I've found intriguing over 23+ years. I've heard them described with different terms, but they all are describing the same area of thought.....and they are....
Your Core Values, or "DNA"
Your "Why?"
Your Purpose
Your True North
In short: What are you all about? What matters?
All organizations have core values, or BEHAVIORS that make up its culture. When things go wrong, are slow to take hold, I would venture to say that there are competing forces in conflict with an organization's values.
At PAVERART, we have a design collection we call our COMPASS ROSE series. It is just that, a nautical inspired Compass collection, clearly our best selling collection over 16+ years of manufacturing PAVERART hardscape designs. Landscape Architects, homeowners, business owners, and hardscape contractors across the USA have all collaborated on their very own customized Compass Rose or the hundreds of standard designs we've showcased on our website and social channels.
In short, our Compass Rose collection is TRUE NORTH, represented in PAVERART.
No business REALLY knows why a certain product line is their top-seller, but its instincts are usually pretty good.
Why do we think the Compass Rose Series is our most popular collection?
Everyone recognizes a COMPASS, and it's core function for providing direction.
That basic function of "where are you going?" matters!
The COMPASS provides so many opportunities to personalize: From the points, sub-points, color combinations
Like all PAVERART, the mere presence in an outdoor living area (driveway, patio, walkway) causes people to stop and smile, and it absolutely sets the area apart from the sea of pavers that tend to blend together and generally NOT be distinctive.
When you are setting a path that has you challenging your past (ie growing from it, getting better), a set of tools is needed to make sure you are successful. But before tackling the nuts and bolts of HOW you get there, it makes sense to start with the bigger picture.
Your Core Values. What really matters to your business, your team, your customers.
Some people (and businesses) take years to discover their True North. It is a process indeed and needs to be a constant conversation. Enjoy the journey.
Wishing everyone a fantastic 2020!
The "Mother of All Compass Rose Installations!" At Leonardtown Wharf, MD.
Don't forget to check out our PAVERART Compass Rose Paver Kit Collection page at: