If you have not started your own creative revolution within your company or store operations, it's never too late. If you have started your engine and are in the midst of change, it's time to take a step back and evaluate how you are doing.

1. For starters, does everyone on your team understand the clear purpose and goals of the organization?

2. Is there any sign of uncertainty about what is required by all team members?

3. Is everyone mutually accountable?

4. Have you stepped up your own energy and passion as a creative, effective leader?

5. Has anyone commented about the company or store being a better place to work? Are people having more fun and enjoying a greater sense of fulfillment?

6. Have you asked consumers to provide feedback about how your product or services are exceeding their needs?

7. Are you getting ready for your planning process for 2011? We generally complete all of our product and financial plans in September.

8. Are you getting support for the changed culture in your company or store from your leadership team, or are you getting that "Here we go again with change" look?

9. What have you done to introduce a different tempo and quality of training?

10. Personally, have you changed how you deal with conflict?

It's important to record the lessons you learn. We sit down every week to discuss what we discovered and have a "funeral" for bad moves. It's an interesting exercise to bury old mistakes and bad ideas and eulogize behavior that just didn't work.

In the last month, several critical lessons were learned within Gracefully Yours that may be of help to you. We've found it's important to:

1. Follow the customer home and watch how they use your product.

2. Keep customers' desires at the forefront of a new product or service you are developing rather than add them to the inventory and then try to sell them.

3. Prune distractions--you can have too much of a good thing.

4. Recognize that you will not always immediately know the answer to every dilemma.

5. Understand that values and choices can evolve as long as you stay anchored in kingdom-building. It's God kingdom, not your own.

6. Realize that having integrity can mean, among other things, listening and incorporating new information.

7. Be brave. A former colleague told me that "most things worth doing are hard."

8. Be flexible. If you want to grow your company, your ministry or your store, remember to question whether your new ideas are scalable.

9. Hire people who are authentic and genuine.

10. Listen--everyone has something to contribute.

Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint--but you do need to start the race.

Rick Tocquigny
CEO
Artbeat of America/Gracefully Yours greeting cards
Host of the national radio show "Life Lessons"
www.blogtalkradio.com/search/rick-tocquigny-life-lessons/

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