The Dog Days of Summer

In baseball, they are called the dog days of summer. Those long, hot, sluggish days, where languishing in the hot sun becomes a millstone to efficient performance. Trudging through them takes energy and determination. Player trades are often made to bolster rosters, and managers are poised to be as creative as they can be.

At the end of ‘dog days’, baseball teams arrive at the proverbial fork in the road. One path leads to victory and the playoffs, where money is on the line, and aches and pains no longer keep key players out of the lineup. Their energy is revitalized to the fullest and it’s time to go all out. The other path leads to a swoon ending, with a totally unsatisfactory outcome to the season, leaving both the teams and fans with little to be excited about.

The same holds true in business. The dog days of summer are now waning in the business world. Vacations are coming to an end, and the business of business is again moving to center stage. This is the time for businesses owners to kick into high gear, to aggrandize every opportunity they’ve created throughout the year, and aspire to finish the year at the highest level possible.

Now is the time for every company to perform as a harmonious unit in order to achieve the goals established at the beginning of the year.  Every detail of their annual plan must be reviewed and executed with maximum energy and enthusiasm, to assure that their goals are met, if not exceeded. It’s crunch time—this is the play offs. It’s the best time of the year for most businesses, and it should also be the most fun. Just as baseball managers prepare for the upcoming playoffs by doing all they can to optimize their team, businesses must now focus on getting the best results they can from their entire staff.

Companies who have been experiencing a favorable year must be especially vigilant in their ongoing operations, so that nothing blindsides them. Paying close attention to each customer or supplier can often prepare owners for any unforeseen crisis.

Those businesses that have not been meeting their goals throughout the year must now look back and assess all of their resources. Owners and managers should re-establish both their daily and weekly goals in order to determine what it will take to meet them.

Sales people should have the utmost confidence that their consumers are willing to buy their product. They should not only be motivated enough to find customers, but also resourceful enough to sell to them.

Production staff must also be confident that they can provide the products or services that are being sold, as well as reassure their sales team with confidence that their objectives will be met.

The finish line is in sight. Whether a business is short of meeting their profit and sales goals or are exceeding them, how they emerge from the dog days of summer will determine whether they meet their target at the end of the year.