I recently visited my old stomping ground, San Diego.  I dropped by the Vistage International studios for an interview with Paul Diamond.

If you need to know what trends will affect your business in 2010, listen to the 20-minute podcast interview now. These are ideas you must consider as you revise your strategic growth plan for 2010.

Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan, defines this metaphor as a highly improbable event that has 3 characteristics:  It is 1) unpredictable 2) it carries a huge impact; and 3) after the fact, humans want to concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random.  For example, Google is a Black Swan. They just celebrated their five year anniversary, and their stock continues to trade above $575/share. You could say that Barack Obama's highly effective, viral online presidential campaign was a positive black swan. The September 11, 2001 events exemplified a negative black swan.

Sometimes, you just have to let the positive black swans (serendipitous events) unfold, sit back, and enjoy the ride.

Last Wednesday, mother nature presented me with a black swan.  As I was preparing for a very busy day in the office, 42 elk interrupted my schedule.

Sometimes, you just have to let the events around you happen and enjoy the ride.

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Last Wednesday, our first serious snowfall in Sunriver arrived.  As I was preparing for a very busy day in the office, 42 elk chose to interrupt me.

I just had to stop what I was doing to savor the majestic scene….

Membership in the successful company club has its privileges. However, with those privileges comes responsibility and the need for a more acute sense of the world around you.

You may have been inducted for a number of reasons. Perhaps you invented a breakthrough product while your competitors were asleep at the wheel. Or you are really adept at expanding a loyal client base. Whatever the reason, it feels good to call the shots and to have completed the startup phase of your business.

At this stage, it is only natural to wonder what you could ever gain from reading yet another post on marketing and planning. You have already learned all the hard lessons, right?

Maybe not. You may be setting yourself up for a painful bailout.

How many of us have been feeling a bit…sluggish lately? 

Perhaps you are experiencing similar pressures that my clients have: tight credit. Poor cash flow. Exhausted employees.  Higher benefits costs. Clients that demand more from you for less.

These are not only pressures that your clients are feeling.  They are affecting you as well.

And the rules of creating sustainable growth are very different than they were in the past.