How to move from thinking short term to long, and vice versa

Thinking long term is a must within a business. Being able to expand a company's net worth should be a long term goal accomplished in many different short term goals. Think of a business like a long flight of stairs and each step as a short term goal getting the business closer to a long term goal. Many businesses face the problem of focusing too much on the short term which causes problems with the longevity of their business.

An example of thinking only short term for a business is a business that produces a product that will only sell because of a trend. Trends don't usually last too long and if your company only makes money off of that trend, then when it is over, so is your company. Internet businesses that sell merchandise for only a certain celebrity, for example, will most likely not make money over the coming years then would be a furniture outlet internet business. Unless the celebrity reached a legendary status, the business would eventually start to suffer with decreasing popularity. One way to fix this problem is to simply switch the mind-set of the internet business to a broader market. Although focusing on a certain celebrity for a business will dwindle over a shorter amount of time, people's interest in celebrities will not.

Why not expand the internet business to sell all sorts of merchandise ranging a large group of celebrities that would attract many different kinds of customers. The furniture outlet internet business already has this sort of longevity from the get go because furniture is an everyday item that people use every day and will continue to use for a long time. To keep the furniture outlet thinking long term they could easily broaden their merchandise to include along with traditional styles have modern styles and always be up on the current trends of furniture.

The opposite of course is true too. Some companies get caught up in the long term so much that they miss out on short term opportunities to help build themselves up. Thinking long term to some people seems to be the safe, most promising way of achieving success. While that is a true principle, it is smart to think in the NOW to get your company into the future.

If a company can pick a product that is used every day and will continue to be used in the future, they can have a long term company. To get the company into a position where they can take advantage of short term opportunities takes a keen eye to see. For example, if a company can put out an ad campaign at the right moment in time that focuses on a certain issue or trend group in America, that could greatly boost their sales for a short amount of time. With that boost in sales, however, they can use that money to develop new projects and invest even more into the future of their company. Short term also could mean everything that happens within a company in the year to come. A year is a long time, but in the whole scheme of things, it can go by very quickly. One year can, however, make or break a company. Sometimes putting all efforts into surviving a year is the only way to get a company into a better position of business.

Whether your company is having trouble thinking long term or short term, realize that there needs to be a balance in order to stimulate your business for success.