Success belongs to the forward-focused

John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

At times, it can be difficult to refocus from the pressing issues of the day, to the unseen opportunities that may lie ahead. In business, this can be especially true, particularly when an important new client comes onboard, or while the organization is realizing steady, albeit marginal, growth, or once the executive team has completed a lucrative deal. At this point in business, the challenge for many business leaders is to look beyond the recent success to prepare for even greater future success.

Greater future success is available to anyone who remains forward-focused rather than past-possessed. What this means is anyone who remains diligent in his or her pursuit of excellence is bound to find it. Here are a few simple rules to help business leaders remain forward-focused, even in the face of recent victories (or defeats).

1. Shake up the ordinary. Do one thing differently every day, whether it’s taking a different route to work or getting coffee from a different place in the morning. Also, train yourself to become aware of things that had previously gone unnoticed. This exercise will help you get into the habit of noticing subtle changes in the environment. A subtle change today could mean a drastic change for your business tomorrow.

2. Become an information junkie. It’s impossible to remember everything you read or hear, but the goal is to be informed. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Uninformed people suffer from tunnel vision and they stand a good chance of missing opportunities that may present themselves from unexpected places.

3. Celebrate today’s success today; then work toward finding something new to celebrate tomorrow. Determined people rarely quit in the face of defeat; however a victory can halt progress faster than the finish line ends a race. A time of victory or success is not the time to stop and rest; it is the time to capitalize on that momentum to achieve even greater success.

4. Study the handwriting on the wall; nothing in business happens in a vacuum. Leaders must stay abreast of the latest industry trends and they must anticipate how these trends will affect their business. Preparing for industry shifts, taking the initiative and being on the offensive are surefire ways to maintain success.

5. Refresh your growth strategies often. Every business should have a strategic plan for growth that is in line with the core values and principles of the organization. However, if the strategic plan is more than five years old, it’s time to take it out, dust if off and update it. A business can’t grow in today’s progressive marketplace using yesterday’s outdated strategies.

6. Recognize the need for change. Don’t be afraid to say, it’s time for a change. Change is hard, but if it’s handled correctly, it can mean the difference between being a market leader and drifting into obscurity. Refusing to change the way you’ve always done it could cause you to miss an opportunity to do it better.

Business leaders should celebrate the victories, while hopefully enjoying the ride, but they cannot allow themselves, or their employees, to get stuck in that latest victory. The moment a business leader stops focusing on the future, the competition is one step closer to gaining a greater share of the market.