It’s October!

Now that our first eighteen months of Riviera Insurance Services are behind us, we can reflect upon where we came from and look forward to where we want to go. Riviera has been very focused with the tasks at hand and we have succeeded in coming a long way in a short period of time. I am very proud of our progress.

Riviera’s core group consists of Steve, Sandy, Jackie and me. We have worked together in various capacities for up to twenty-five years. We all share the same dedication to providing personalized services for our clients. Our team is confident that we can assist our clients with their ever-changing and always growing needs. We are focused on creating relationships that encourage our customers to continue working with Riviera year after year. Additionally, we are always looking at how we can improve and grow ourselves. To assist us in our strategic planning, I like to look to outside sources for inspiration and new ideas.

One such source is a book that I highly recommend: Sticking to It: The Art of Adherence is written by Lee J. Colan. Mr. Colan emphasizes the adherence to goals. Colan states, “The challenges for today’s businesses are always changing, but the formula for winning remains the same.  The key to winning the game is focusing on ‘how’ more than ‘what’. In other words, strategy gets you in the game, but execution gets you in the winners circle.”

 He provides a formula that assists in the setting of goals and strategic planning.

Adherence= Focus x Competence x Passion

Colan explains the three components of Adherence. He breaks down each area as follows:

Keep in mind that this is a multiplication formula, so if even one of the components is zero, the adherence (product) will be zero! Thus, each component plays an essential role in the overall results of adhering to the strategic plan. I could elaborate on this book, but to be brief I will just state that I found this book to be a great read. Success is not an accident. Instead, it comes from much planning and focused, competent, and passionate effort.

I always appreciate finding a tool, such as ‘Sticking to it,’ that can assist me with planning for the future. Please let me know if you have a book or two to recommend that has been helpful in the pursuit of your successful business.

Best wishes to everyone. Thank you for helping us have a successful 2007.

Sincerely,

Chris