By Neal Glatt

This week starts a new quarter of the year, so it’s a great time to evaluate whether you are on track to hit your yearly goals.  Unfortunately, most people will say they have been too busy with the spring rush to make strategic progress in their business.  Here’s how to break the cycle…

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Every year around this time, landscape companies rush into selling and servicing clients in a chaotic flurry of activity.  Between contract management, spring clean-ups, weather delays, onboarding new staff, and client demands, it has been dubbed “90 days of hell” by some companies.  Yet one of the biggest threats to companies is their inability to slow down.  

I was watching the return of Formula 1 racing over the weekend where elite drivers race the fastest cars on the planet, reaching speeds of over 225 miles per hour.  What is fascinating about this race is not how fast the cars go on straightaways, but how well they brake into corners where they routinely slow down to nearly half of their maximum speed.  In fact, this is where the race is often won.

The same is true for companies in the green industry.  Those who are the most successful are the ones who can take time to stop the madness and focus on strategic goals during the busiest season.  Can you turn off your phone and email for just thirty minutes today to make progress on a strategic goal?  Can you do that tomorrow, and the next day, and every day until you build momentum for what you are working to achieve?

There’s a strategic reason that all of the course modules here on GrowTheBench are about 15 minutes in length.  We want you and your team to be able to learn in small, manageable increments, even while running a business that can feel out of control.  This approach  is very effective.

Even better, can you consider attending one of our live mastermind sessions for an hour?  Block the time on your calendar today.  Or should you invest in a Snowfighters Institute event for two days of education and networking?  Check them out here.

Here’s what I promise: every minute of time you can pull yourself out of the daily grind to invest in yourself will pay immense dividends in the future.  Committing to education, reflection, networking, and growth is ALWAYS a great investment of time.  It’s what has propelled me to success in scaling businesses and achieving every goal I’ve ever set, but it requires sacrifice.  So what are you willing to give up in order to win?

Check out Neal's interview on the GrowTheBench weekly podcast for more thoughts on this topic: