I recently packed  up the SUV and headed to southern California with my family to spend Christmas with my oldest son.  On the morning of Christmas Eve the kids and I headed up the road to the local ski resort.  It was a beautiful day and we couldn’t wait to get onto the snow.  After a few warm-up runs at the lower part of the resort we took a chairlift, to the top of the mountain.

At 8,000  feet I skied off the lift  to the trail head.  It then hit me….as I looked up I couldn’t believe what was before my eyes.  Here I was in the middle of the forest covered in a thin blanket of snow but what was that in the distance.   I asked my son what’s out there?  He replied, “the Mojave”.  What did he say?  Yes, the hearing may be fading with each passing year, but the desert?  I looked on in awe.

What a contrast from the fresh snow and green pines, to the dry almost barren land.  How could two places be so different but yet be so close?

Here we are just getting 2010 underway and I wonder will this year look like last or will it bring forth new life and excitement as the economy begins to recover and gain momentum.  I could play it safe and tell  you we will see very little growth, but I think we need to move beyond the critics view.   We need to gain a better vantage point if we are going to see a different perspective.  

When you sat down and planned out your Company’s budget for 2010, did you start with 2009 actual numbers and project that the next year would  be slightly better?  If so, don’t feel alone as that is how most budgeting is done.  But what are you going to do different in 2010 to stimulate sales and increase efficiencies?  You need to see your Company being in a different place a year from now.  If you can’t, then you most likely will arrive at the same place as you did in 2009. 

Creating stretch goals are one thing but the real success comes when new strategies are developed to help your team move to a different place.  If I were to stay at the ski lodge I would have never seen the vast desert.  In turn my appreciation for the abundant beauty and potential for growth around me would not have come into focus.

Take time now to step away from your Company and imagine what it could become.  Then take that vision and involve your team in creating the plans to move you this new place. 

Until next time….at this crossroad will you choose the desert or the forest?

My journey resumes in the Napa Valley, more specifically at the top of Spring Mountain above St. Helena.  Yes, that is snow along with some “lovely” graffiti.  Love and romance go perfectly in the Napa Valley.  In this case, the love is being spread throughout the vineyards.  This actually makes sense to me because the real love for wine begins in the vineyards.  So let’s explore further this love affair beneath the vines.

Not often thought of as romantic –  it’s the dirt that makes the difference.  We don’t  think of  the soil as the starting point for the tasty stuff  that ends up in our glass, but it is what makes Napa wines great. Without it, the wines would be pretty much the same no matter where the grapes were grown.  Ah, so let the courtship begin.

When you enter the Napa Valley there is a sign near Oakville that reads “welcome to the famous Napa Valley wine growing region”.  The phrase ”wine growing” always struck me as odd.  I have driven through the valley every day for 15 years and I have never seen wine growing.  I watched grapevines develop throughout the year until harvest but never once did I see a bottle of wine out there. 

However, talk to any winemaker and they will say that great wines start in the vineyard and great grapes come from great soils.  So where’s the love in dirt?  Or should I say who is loving that dirt?  The vintner is  – with the help of  his or her vineyard manager.  Yes, there is a real romance happening in the vineyards especially by those who utilize organic practices.  It is their love for the natural harmony of the soils that allows the grapevines to mature and produce awesome wines.  This doesn’t happen by accident, it requires a long-term plan with attention to detail.  Each vineyard block must be analyzed and understood for its strengths and weaknesses.  The vineyard manager can then determine the best course of action over the coming years to bring out the best qualities in the grapes.  Part science and part art but most of all a passion and love for recognizing the potential each vine has in the soil where it is planted.

Does your passion reach beyond the topsoil in your life?  Too often we take the short cut by  looking for immediate gratification – not realizing that if we focused on the longer term our actions would lead us to our destination. 

As you say goodbye to 2009, may you find clarity and dare to dream what 5 and 10 years from now could look like.  While you’re at it, write down your dreams and then begin to lay out your plan for organically growing yourself.

Until next time…may your passion for life be expressed like the love that is cultivated in the Napa Valley each year.