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From the Editor: Making Plans
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
In the early weeks of January, most of us dedicate a lot of time to "digging out" both literally, as New England continues to welcome snow storm after snow storm, and figuratively, as we shake off the holidays and forge ahead with the new year. Some people begin to follow New Year's resolutions earnestly, for others it's about getting on task with piles of work, and still others tuck into a fresh semester of schoolwork. For me, getting on track after the 2007 holidays meant finding a new home with more room, closer to the office.
Shopping for a home can be unnerving. Even with the housing market on shaky legs, the possibility of "here today, gone tomorrow" is always in the back of your mind. "This one's nice," you might say to the real estate agent, and the automatic reply is, "Well, we should move fast." Moving fast is the last thing I want to do, with large dollar amounts and years of living, entertaining, and commuting on the line. This situation comes up only once in a while in our personal lives perhaps buying a car, accepting or declining a job offer, choosing a school or home but in business, quick decisions with massive impact come up every day. The approach taken, in my home search and in business, is planning.
Planning is everything when you make a split-second decision. For the home search, it comprised listing wants, needs, and absolutely nots; budgeting monthly expenses well in advance to determine a price range; ferreting out hidden fees, necessary upgrades, neighborhood rankings; and then sticking to these during the hunt. For an electronics company, faced with as much topsy-turvy industry movement as the housing market, planning comes down to getting the right people in place to steer your business well into the future, to react quickly and correctly on a daily basis, and to understand customers.With year-end tasks and holidays behind them, suppliers and assemblers seem to be turning their heads to this planning, naming managers, advisors, directors, and high-level executives. We've gathered a sampling of important appointments in this week's Names in the News column. P. KAY Metal, Blue Thunder Technologies, Endicott Interconnect, and other companies took steps this month to set up their year, surely even more will continue throughout the early months of 2008. Companies with a vision for the future act in the present to secure it. Whether this means investing in retaining skilled employees, adding fresh perspectives to guide a concept, product, or market strategy, or bolstering your company in international waters, good decisions now pay off with interest when those split-second decisions pop up down the line.
As for me, I didn't necessarily get everything on my "wants" list in the new place, but, thanks to following the guidelines I'd prepared ahead of time, I did get everything I needed. Most importantly, I found a home without any of my "absolutely nots," and that will serve me well fiscally and joyfully for years to come. With the fledgling days of January rushing by so fast, it wasn't a moment too soon.
Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor