| A record $90 million lottery has been announced for | | | | They may have been depending on the luck, but |
| this week. Half the nation are buying tickets. Even | | | | didn't expect it to happen. |
| my normally very sensible wife has asked me to buy | | | | Samuel Goldwyn once said to someone who |
| a ticket, against my better judgement (although that | | | | commented that he had a lot of luck in his business |
| is not the first time I have felt I have had to | | | | "I agree and the harder I worked, the luckier I got" |
| acquiesce to such things in the name of harmony at | | | | Now that is the kind of luck upon which you can |
| home, and I am sure it won't be the last). | | | | depend. |
| As someone who regards themselves as having | | | | Luck starts with a vision, but doesn't finish there. It |
| good analytic skills, I find lotteries are an affront to | | | | must be backed with a plan. A vision without a plan is |
| commonsense. The only way they are commercially | | | | just a dream. How many of those have come true |
| sustainable is that everyone on average loses. | | | | for you lately? |
| However with the odd ticket in a major jackpot and | | | | Your strategy is how you bridge the gap from your |
| our annual flutter on the Melbourne Cup this is just a | | | | current state and your ultimate objective. So write |
| bit of fun for us. It is not our financial strategy. We | | | | out the key things you want to achieve in your |
| are not banking on it to pay for our retirement, and | | | | business. This might be more profit or just more time |
| our investment in it is petty cash, annually less than a | | | | off. Next describe your strategies for bridging these |
| nice night out. | | | | gaps. These would include your Marketing Strategy, |
| Unfortunately, all too often, a lottery strategy is the | | | | your Business Structure or your Operations and |
| one adopted by many business owners. That is | | | | People Strategy. If there are gaps you can't bridge |
| something will turn up. One of their ads draw will | | | | seek advice. |
| draw in a whale customer. That their business gets | | | | When you add an action plan to these strategies you |
| profiled on a family talk show resulting in a huge | | | | have what I refer to as the Five Pillars of |
| surge of business. Maybe one time they do get | | | | Guaranteed Business Success. |
| lucky- but what happens next? | | | | So with the new Financial Year just commencing, |
| In most cases, not much. They blow their luck (like | | | | don't just hope that next year will be better, plan for |
| most lottery winners) and are back to where they | | | | it. |
| started, because they were not prepared for it. | | | | Or just buy a lottery ticket and hope. |