I think one of the greatest principles is that of constant improvement. In my mind no business or individual for that matter should feel satisfied with their current condition. There should be a constant drive to improve.
In order to improve, you need to KNOW what you have. You need to make an assessment of your current state. You must understand the key drivers of your business. I look at Astonish Results as a system. You can view your business as a system too.
Let me give you a real life example. Shortly after graduation from college I worked as an intern for a large chemical company (Hoechst Celanese). This company synthesized chlorinated organics (which for the chemists out there means something..). Part of the process involved periodic measurement of temperature, percentage of reactants, length of time the components have reacted etc.
So, what is the parallel to your business? Your business is producing things too and there are key indicators you can measure to make sure the “reaction” is preceding correctly and not out of control. The trick is determining what those key drivers are and measuring them over time. One key driver could be the number of new policies written per week or closing % of each producer. The more you have a handle on these key drivers the more you’ll be able to take the necessary steps to improve your processes. The more you know about your key indicators, the more confidence you’ll have in you business.