It is hard to believe that fall is coming up already. Through the summer I have been busy traveling to all of my company’s offices to hear how they are doing, and I have also been reaching out to clients, taking them out to do some fun things together. The summer provides opportunities to enjoy each other’s company, often in recreational settings, while still providing time to enhance professional relationships. It is an important season and a period we shouldn’t underestimate.
Sometimes it is easy for member companies to get lost in the day-to-day issues and forget to step back and reflect on the company overall, its direction and the longer term strategic issues that they need to work on. As it has been said many times before, to run a successful company you need to work “in” the company but you also need to work “on” the company.
While you might be doing this at the beginning of the year through issues such as budgeting, planning, closing out the books, there are many things that can happen mid-year that are also important to the company’s health and future. I understand that this is the time many companies look at their financial structure—things like employee raises and other fiscal issues. Call it a period for a procedural or company checkup—a time to make sure the company is prepared to get through the summer months and through the next season.
I see summer as one of the best times to connect in a bigger way with customers, partners and other companies. It is an opportune time to go fishing, golfing or participate in other non-business activities that you, your clients and others you work with can enjoy together. While it stands to improve relationships on a personal level, it is an important time to also reflect on best practices—the health of member companies. It can be a kind of overview of the organization. Summer in the business world, if you will, can be like summer with family when your kids are out of school and common activities are shared—a chance to bond.
I hope you all had an opportunity to enjoy the summer, and hopefully it has helped give you a good perspective on the fall to come.
In addition to being 2023–2024 president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry, Travis Winsor is president and CEO of The Raymond Group, which has offices in California and Nevada.
