STAY OUT OF THE BALKANS!                                                                 "Suddenly you see that some existing activities and projects that may be good in themselves are not really moving you toward your long term success"                John A. Warden III                                                                        In  his  book,  Winning  in Fast Time, John Warden identifies 12 cardinal rules for the development of effective strategy.   One of the  rules,  'Stay out of the Balkans', identifies a problem we have found  is present in most of our client companies.       The  "Balkans" is a metaphor for activities and projects  that  don't help you achieve your objectives. The term stems from Germany's ill-fated decision to conquer the Balkans during World War II, which required  diverting nearly a million men from the German campaign against the Russians.  The Balkans had no strategic  value  to  the Germans, was a useless effort and ultimately contributed to their defeat.    To Avoid the Balkans we need to keep asking one question: How will this help us win ?                                                In business today we see so many organisations who don't ask that question. They execute new initiatives and projects like there is no tomorrow. Often with little or no consideration of whether or not it will ultimately lead to success.                                           The great problem here is that many of these initiatives and projects are so energy sapping, time consuming and resource demanding that they actually take people away from the MAIN GAME. Folks get so caught up in the latest fad that they forget about what is REALLY critical to success.                                                                            Here are three ways to avoid the BALKANS:                                             1. Make sure everyone is ABSOLUTELY clear on the difference between success and failure. Don't let people get distracted!                                             2. Make sure everyone knows EXACTLY what they personally need to focus on to get there. Don't let people get distracted!                                              3. The NEXT time a new initiative or project is put forward, BEFORE you make any decision ask the question. HOW WILL THIS HELP US WIN??? (You should also direct this question at existing projects!) To learn more about Afterburner click here