Bewildered and frustrated, Lance walked away from the meeting, saying to himself, “He just doesn’t get it. The facts are clear, the opportunity is ripe, the steps are obvious, but he just doesn’t get it.”

Lance had hoped that lunch with his pastor would be a helpful and healthy discussion about the church’s opportunities and challenges. Over this year, in which Lance, Colleen and their kids had been committed church members, they had appreciated the fellowship and biblical teaching. And like any business, Lance could see that the church had some great opportunities for broader impact and challenges to be confronted to get there.

My branding agency does brand management for charter schools. We have year-long contacts with schools to do all their graphics and help with marketing. During our monthly meetings, they tell us all the things that have been planned, and my team helps them bring those visions to life.

Meeting clients to learn about their needs and asking questions about their community helps give us insight and wisdom in helping guide their brand’s growth.

When it comes to reaching your goals and maximizing your potential in the field of business, excuses aren’t allowed and there is no room for failure. As a company, whether you are a small business or a corporation, you should have performance and revenue goals set for each year that are broken down into smaller attainable goals throughout each fiscal quarter. The end game here is to not only reach your end-of-year goals, but to exceed them. Business is just like any other team activity, such as football or basketball, where the 3rd quarter is the most important part of the game.