We all struggle with the idea of when to change and how much. And when you’re leading a team of people, everything you do is magnified in impact – both positive and negative.

But there’s a key which helps give you some direction.

Know your foundation.

The foundation of your business should be your principles, values, and mission. The things you believe in so strongly that there’s no way you would sacrifice them.

“But having such a powerful foundation makes me LESS flexible, right?” Well, yes and no.

Let’s say that you are totally committed to amazing and memorable customer service. Great! Don’t sacrifice that.

But that’s a pretty general statement; it didn’t tell me anything about the services you deliver. THAT’S where your agility comes in. When faced with a choice, you’ll tell me that “we’ll only take on new services where we can differentiate ourselves by being amazing and memorable in our customer interactions.”

As it turns out, that helps you to make some pretty powerful choices! You’re looking for a particular opportunity and an approach which meets your criteria. When you find it, you can move ahead with full commitment.

You’ll pass by dozens of other opportunities that others might find attractive, but that’s quite OK. Because your choice will be most powerful for you and your customers.

And that’s the best decision you can make.