December Editor’s Note: Clock Management
It’s still a few days before Thanksgiving as I write this and here we are assembling the December edition of Enterprise, with its references to Santa and Christmas trees, and laying the groundwork for the January edition, which may well include a resolution or two.
All this before I’ve had a first helping of turkey and stuffing, to say nothing of seconds.
Such is the nature of publishing: It monkeys with one’s sense of time. It also offers constant, insistent reminders that there’s never enough time to do what needs doing. In fact, as far as I can tell, the only person around these parts who seems routinely to have enough time to get the job done is Tom Brady.
Speaking of clock management (I’m looking at you, Eli Manning), this edition of Enterprise makes two references, by coincidence, to the highly varied clock under which business operates.
In the Business of Agriculture column, Steve Taylor takes a look at the Twin States’ Christmas tree growers, who year after year provide something like a quarter of a million stately, fragrant, perfectly shaped trees to help people celebrate the holiday.
But those trees don’t get their perfect shape by themselves, nor do they get it overnight. As Taylor, New Hampshire’s former agriculture commissioner, notes, it can take eight to 10 years before a tree is ready for the market.
Imagine: A decade of care and maintenance, not to mention a decade of exposure to threats like weather and pests, before that tree returns a nickel to its grower. Talk about taking the long view.
At the other end of the time spectrum we find contributor Cyndy Bittinger, the former president of the Women’s Network of the Upper Valley. Her Women and Business column this month focuses on some of the different organizations that exist to help business owners or managers improve their operations. These groups help people hone their public speaking skills, provide presentations on relevant topics, and offer the chance to brainstorm in a supportive atmosphere.
One of the techniques these groups practice, which Bittinger will explore in more detail in her January column, is the “elevator pitch.” A staple of the corporate world, this bit of business theater, if done well, is supposed to provide a poised and polished description of a business, its products or services, its backers, revenue model and competition — all in the time it takes for an elevator to get from the lobby to the C-suites.
Imagine: Boiling down your business — everything you’ve dreamed of and worked for — to a 30-second spiel.
Even Tom Brady would break a sweat.
Best wishes for a healthy, happy holiday season from everybody here at Enterprise. We’ll see you all in 2016.
Ernie Kohlsaat
