360 some days from now

Hey everybody, Drew McLellan here,coming to you from Agency Management Institute on Kangaroo Island, Australia. As you might imagine by the name, I am literally surrounded by kangaroos and water. And as I have been on this vacation, I have had a lot of time to think about 2019, and what we, as agency owners, need to do to make the year really what we want it to be, to really end up where we want to end up. And the factor that we often forget about is the X factor. And the X factor in every agency, I don't care how big or small you are, is the owner. Where we focus our attention, where we focus our time, where we ask our people to focus, that's where the agency's going to go. So much like when you're driving a car or a boat, if your eye drifts off to the left or the right, the car or boat also drifts to the left or the right. Our agencies are no different. Where we focus, is where the agency is going to head. So how thoughtful have you been? How intentional have you been in terms of where are you going to focus? So I want you to ask yourself a couple questions as you go into 2019, and the first one is, what do you need to stop doing? Agency owners bring incredible gifts to their agency, but we also bring our bad habits, and we also bring our skirting the system, and we also bring our attitude that we can sort of create the rules as we go. We are often  the bottle neck, we are often the reason why projects go over budget or over time. So, what are you going to need to stop doing to keep your agency headed in the direction you want it to head? And the flip question of that, of course, is, where do you need to double down? What part of your agency requires your time and attention and focus? Is it your people? Is it some process inside your agency? Is it Biz Dev? For every one of you, it's going to be different, but I promise you, there is something that your agency needs your unique attention and focus on for 2019, so what is it? And what are you going to take off your plate, because the argument I always hear is you know what you should focus on, but you don't have time. What are you going to take off your plate? What are you going to coach someone else how to do? What are you going to stop doing, so you actually can focus on the things that require you, the owner's attention throughout the year? So as January unfolds, and as our clients come out of hibernation, take these last few days to really ask yourself those questions, and to put things in place, so you really can stay focused exactly where you agency needs you. All right? Can't wait to hear what you decided. Can't wait to see where you're at 360 some days from now, and I can't wait to get back home and see all of you in person. Talk to you soon.