I am constantly trying to discover what I am NOT good at. It’s the only way I can improve and like most people my list is long if I’m honest with myself.

One thing I am ‘always’ good at is seeing ‘big picture’ and having a bloody good guess at where something may be going. For instance, about five years ago, I suggested that our design business had to develop because the web would expedite a drop in the requirement for printed products. It has. Also, in October 2007, we started planning for a recession that came in 2008.

Both of these suggestions now seem ridiculously obvious and maybe they were so at the time and as I am half way through an excellent book called The Black Swan – about predictability (or impossibility at predicting) – I would suggest that both ideas were lucky guesses to some extent.

Other examples of long-term thinking have been free ‘gift’ projects I’ve done at The Escape with a view to elevating our profile, which in turn has turned into paying work. This process creates a pipeline of business that’s worthwhile, but it takes a hell of a long time to turn to cash and only about 20% of these projects evolve into business. That said, when it comes down to return on investment – the plan works.

So, I can fool myself into thinking I am good at long term planning.

But, one thing that is becoming more and more apparent is my lack of being more ‘pushy’ (for want of a better word) – of closing the sale, or of making the hard business decision sooner rather than later.

I’m not talking about becoming agressive. I’m talking about taking action sooner and doing short term planning.

Luckily, my business partner complements my current skillset in this paradigm, but, coming back to honesty with myself – it’s an area that needs a bit of focus. The great thing about working with someone who is very good at ‘short-term’, I’ve got someone to copy.