A client told us at Image Marketing Consultants, “Things slow down during the holidays.”  He said it, with an undertow of apology.

After all, the American brand of capitalism is to be always doing, always on the go.  Because of that, too many leaders of organizations don’t approach so-called “slow times” as opportunities to think about emerging opportunities and threats and how to deal with them.

There is an often-repeated anecdote about Bill Gates, current global philanthropist and founder of Microsoft. His mother called down to him when he was in the basement and asked him what he was doing.  He answered, “Thinking.”  She didn’t understand why he would be doing that.  He and his mother had a difficult relationship.

Thinking is not a trait encouraged when we are young, at least not in America.  Yet, it’s frequently exactly what successful people do and a lot of it.  The late Steve Jobs was always connecting the dots in his head, in new ways.  Hillary and Bill Clinton have been able to “think” their way out of crisis.  When he was studying at Oxford, News Corp head Rupert Murdoch learned game theory, that is to plan his moves in context of what he thought his opponents would do.  President Barack Obama, TIME Person of the Year, is sometimes criticized for being in his head so much but, despite the economic problems of his first term, he won a second one.

We at Image Marketing Consultants hope that you will take the time during the next few weeks to reflect on how you could make your organizations more successful.

We invite you to a complimentary consultation about your marketing, partnerships, public relations, special events, and social media.  Please contact Kate Sirignano kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.