How to Decide Your Next Task

Scenario: "Dude, we gotta build new revenue streams in the luxury food industry! Wahoo! Yay!" You know the deal when most business-builders try to be innovative: "Hmm, what new stuff should we do?" Seeking to do fresh things might sound fine-and-dandy -- but most people do it at the expense of what they're currently doing. That causes leaks in their company foundations. Instead -- if you're deciding on your business's next task, start asking: "Right now: Where do we truly suck?" Then, fix accordingly. (It's a concept inspired by one of our favorite guru's six-year research on what fabulous companies do.)

Why Confront Where You Suck

If homebuilders construct sloppy foundations, their houses would go: Kaaaaaaabooooooooom! Similarly: if you're ignoring your business's suckiest things, you're bracing your business for a freakish fall. Those cracks in your business will eat you up. Consider:

Billy's Taco Stand

1. His tacos suck.
2. Billy: "Hey! Let's sell burritos!"
3. "If the tacos suck, the burritos probably suck too," says a bubbly Customer Cassie. "I'm not buying."
4. Resources, time, and money on introducing new product = drainage.
5. No profits = no money = no business.

Ouch. What would badass business-owner Ann do?

1. Ann: "Hey! People aren't buying our tacos because it's too greasy."
2. She hires a chef to fix those tacos.
3. She then measures how customers like them.
4. If tacos rock, she asks herself again: "Now, where do we suck?"
5. "Bingo! We suck at generating repeat-customers. Let's see if burritos can bring them back!"

Her profits start soaring than a juiced-up rocket ship.

"How do I confront my business's suckiest things?"

Think: Prioritize! Prioritizing your stuff rocks because it lets you distinguish the "gotta-do's" from the "do-it-later's". Our recommendation: Have a "Top-X-Sucky List" where you list the top number of reasons why your business sucks. That helps you plan your very next step, accordingly. Consider:

The Brazilian Restaurant Example

If you're running a Brazilian restaurant for instance, your "Top-X-Sucky List" could resemble:

Our Top-5-Sucky List

1. Cash-flow.
2. Lunchtime customer service.
3. On-site training for newbies.
4. Inventory management.
5. Next-day catering services.
6. Local advertising.

So, you know your next task is to fix that cash-flow problem. You start devising ideas with your team:

• "We can increase menu prices."
• "We can offer complimentary dishes."
• "We can start catering to weddings."
• "We can quicken our inventory cycle."

As you confront each of your business's suckiest things, your business starts becoming sexier -- and oh-so-sexier. The template to get your badass deciding what to do next:

"My Top-X-Sucky List: _______________________."

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