Take a Look in the Mirror ...

Last week the Echidna team had a chance to break away from the office and do some brainstorming/soul searching about the future direction of our company. I know - sounds like some pretty deep stuff - but I believe there is value in stepping away from the distractions of work and really focusing on some high level ideas.

The Echidna team has grown significantly over the last two years (from a team of 3 to 9 employees) and it was important to revisit some pretty basic fundamentals:

• What is the vision of Echidna Solutions Corp.?
• What is our corporate culture?
• What do we see as our brand?
• What type of projects - have we been doing - do we want to be doing - should we be doing?
• Are there additional tools/software/hardware that would help the team be more efficient or productive?

Now I realize that these are pretty basic questions, but how often do you sit down as an entire team (uninterrupted) and really flesh out the meaning of the above mentioned statements? The ideas/recommendations that came out of this corporate getaway were incredible and we were able to gain insights into our company that were both intriguing and invigorating!

I recommend that all companies take a look in the mirror and question, analyze and revisit the basics of their business to determine the following:

• Is the current vision still working and valid?
• Does the corporate vision need to change based on a new market environment?

And as a business owner there are a few ways to define/redefine your organization:

• You could establish clear goals and ensure you have the right employees to help you achieve them.
• You could look at your current employees and determine the organizations goals based on their skill set.

The approach taken is different for each company - but there is definitely value in periodically ... taking a look in the mirror!