Six Degrees has been pretty successful over the past 30 years. Granted, 2009 has brought with it more challenges than most, but we’ve continued to focus on outstanding customer service, delivering results, kept a very close eye on spending, and committed to our own marketing investments.

Never ones to rest on our laurels, I and the team agreed it would be good to take a fresh look at our company strategy, bearing in mind how much the business world has changed, and focus on the positive direction we want to pursue over the next few years.

We chose to work with a well-respected facilitator … and the goal was to dedicate one whole day to coming up with the framework for our new strategy.

Developing a company strategy in a day sounds crazy … some might even say irresponsible. But in a nutshell, that’s just what we did. We got the framework down, reiterated our core values and agreed some pretty ambitious goals. There’s nothing this group likes more than a challenge!

It’s probably too early to share the detail with you … that will come once our plans are finalized over the next month or so. But suffice to say that the exercise was a thought-provoking one, and genuinely helped us challenge our thinking about our own limitations. Without a doubt, it helped create more alignment within the team, and reinforced our own momentum, in addition to underlining the importance of genuine accountability from everyone on the team.

Among many, many insightful comments throughout the day, the one that has got me thinking this week is the ability to focus on doing the things that will drive results, rather than the much longer list of things that simply keep me busy.

Our facilitator has written a pretty detailed account of the experience from his perspective.  it is nice to know he was impressed with the genuine team spirit in the room -- it’s something we’ve worked hard on, and are proud of.

In my view, it’s about time businesses of all sizes started thinking positively about the future, and began taking steps, however small, to get there. I know it seems simplistic, but surely just the smallest shift in mindset will help push this economy in the right direction?