Bringing Products to Market Quickly!

• Spend time with your customers. They will tell you quickly what they need. Go to your best customers first. If you don't know who they are, find out fast because your competition knows who they are.

• Reallocate your resources to invest in your best people through training, education and compensation. Reward new ideas and look for opportunities to support research and development programs.

• Create relationships with your employees, your customers and your suppliers. Look outside your company to forge new, strategic relationships that will bring a different focus to your business.

• Don't be afraid to try something new and test it out. If it shows promise, assign a valued employee to run with it. If not, stop, and try something else.

• Take another look at your business plan and company goals. Be sure everyone in the company understands the core business you are in and what targets you want to hit.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate--in person, by fax or by e-mail--to all those who are involved. If you think you don't have time, remember that good communication will save you the time you otherwise would have to spend correcting mistakes.

• Utilize your trusted advisers--your accountants, attorneys, bankers, and insurance professionals--because they have a different perspective than you do. Learn from their input.

• Create an advisory board of directors. Look for diversity so you get a new perspective.

The article is from Business Review. http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2002/06/10/smallb2.html