Game On!!!!

 

Game On!

FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! The most important part of being on top of the change in the economy is to know your market, focus on who you are and what you do and stay in the Game! When the economy makes a “turn” focus is even more critical. There are many successful people who have made their fortunes in a turn in the economy, up and down. Time is wasting, move on, move out and get your Game On! 

Since my change in the way I see my profession on May 15, 2012, I have had the chance to be part of some exciting opportunities. My focus has narrowed. My main effort has been doing a great job for a large County master plan in California.  It is an enjoyable opportunity of assessing the overall demographics of the County, calculating the staffing needs for the next 10 – 15 years and calculating space needs. The work has led to some great research and discussions.  At the same time I have strategically aligned with several key organizations that are involved in facility planning and designing in California, Oregon and Washington. I can offer a rock-solid knowledge base that is unprecedented in front-end planning, master planning and programming on a variety of facility types, both public and private. Teaming with these firms makes a very strong, competitive alliance.  This alignment is critical to my continued success, and the grouping makes it very hard for our competitors…I believe that with focus, I have my Game On! 

Have you ever been to Forks, Washington? (http://forkswa.com/) It seems it has grown in popularity since the Twilight movies have hit the scene. Although the main street of town has changed since my early days of dating my wife, who is a native of Forks, everything else has remained about the same; including the 8 to 9 feet (yes feet) of rain a year. Just in the last month one of the oldest buildings on main street burnt to the ground, a very large tragedy for those who know Forks as home! Forks, named for all the nearby rives that fork near the town, such as the Quillayute, Bogacheil, Calawah and Sol Duc has stayed in the game primarily because of the timber industry.  However, out of need, the focus has changed and it survives today on tourism and sports fishing.  Recently a new High School was built, located two blocks from Main Street. The school is energized by a Biomass Boiler; a very unique use of the waste product from the woods and all the mills in the area. The project is amazing, especially and for a small district. (http://www.jhkelly.com/projects/forks-biomass.html) Forks has had to move-on, adapting and evolving. However, with the end of the Twilight series in sight, Forks will need a new Focus. A focus that will keep them in the Game!

The wood products industry has always been a boom and bust, I know I had an architectural firm that depended on wood products as well as commercial fishing and tourists. When all three deteriorated in the mid 90’s, another “turn” in the economy, it meant the demise of my company.  I started the business in 1983, another “turn”. At that time, the firm that I was with decided to close the two branch offices they had and consolidate to a single address. I was left with the choice of moving to the main office or starting my own firm. After considerable discussions with my only associate, my wife, we took the plunge and started an office. We had several school projects and I quickly started a niche business of working with every school district in the area as their “facility” architect. I had a focus that included Energy Audits, identifying energy saving measures that had a short pay back benefit for the district.  I developed hundreds of projects, completed applications for funding to the Bonneville Power Administration and completed design, bidding and construction observation for the approved projects. It was a niche that no one else had identified and through it our firm became recognized as a leader in the school planning market of Washington State. However, the 90’s “turn” in the market was too powerful, forcing a change in the Game!

Today, staying in the game is difficult, and moving forward in the current economy is even more difficult. But history tells us that this is the time that great things take place; when we find ourselves needing to adapt, evolve and survive. City’s like Forks, Washington will need to create opportunities, develop strategies and reroute their focus.  

Our personnel business environment changes rapidly. Overnight a new way to communicate and collaborate gets invented. The idea of video communicating on your phone was  a Dick Tracy function, not reality 10 years ago!  Focus! Focus! Focus!

I found this Blog, UR-Upgrade Reality, that simply outlined helpful steps in focusing and achieving any GOAL! (http://www.upgradereality.com/how-to-focus-and-achieve-any-goal/) 

·  Picture Yourself Having Achieved Your Big Goal. Feel It And Smile

·  Decide On And Take One Small Step

·  Be Ruthless With Distractions

·  Keep Your Energy Up

·  Practice Micro Celebration

You cannot be arrogant and inward focused if you hope to survive; you need to know what your competition is doing and learn from them; know what is happening in your environment and stay in the Game!