I talked last week about the downside of decisions, but this week I’d like to focus on the possible upside.

There are times when it is healthy to be optimistic about the possible future. I appreciate this because it generates energy and attracts people toward your ideas.

Let’s imagine that you’re planning to expand the business to a new location. I’m sure you’re hoping that you’ll serve more customers, generating income and profits on top of the necessary expense.

What’s the best possible outcome? Well, it might be a wonderful success, reaching loyal customers who are happy to reward you for your investment. You might learn new things which you can leverage to the existing locations, boosting efficiency and expanding the brand.

You can see why people are attracted to support this. Sure, there are risks and naysayers, but that’s why you do thorough planning. Right?

As with the negative thinking we explored last time, it’s certainly possible to take this too far. I’ll get fabulously rich! We’ll be the next Amazon! We’ll redefine the entire industry!

This gets us quickly into territory where we lose credibility – with investors, with employees, with partners. So it can be a fun exercise when we’re in “blue sky” brainstorming, but it’s not something to put too much effort into until we get to the appropriate stage. Some companies are ready to strive for becoming the best on the planet, but the rest of us have goals and dreams which are more modest.

To be honest, I’m quite fine with that. There’s room for all of us.