Note: This is the 8th post in our Change is Good series

There are no speed limits on the road to excellence. -Anonymous

Productivity usually comes in bursts. You know how it is. You've got something in the back of your mind that you need to do, and there are two possible outcomes. You either get used to the status quo, and it sits on the backburner, or you get motivated and do it.

Once you get into the zone, and you're motivated, progress happens quickly, but if there's even one little roadblock standing in your way, it won't begin. The problem is that little roadblock gets bigger and bigger the longer you wait.

I've got homework for you today. I know there's at least one thing spinning in the back of your mind that you've been putting off. Maybe you have to deal with a difficult customer. Maybe you have to paint your living room. Whatever it is, find that one thing you're putting off and split it up into small tasks that take maybe 5-10 minutes.

What's the very next thing that you need to do to make progress in accomplishing that task?

Take 5 minutes and do it. You'll be amazed how small that roadblock seems when you're done.

The moral of this story is that one victory, however small, will make you push for the next one. The key to progress is smashing or jumping over little roadblocks on your path to success, before they have time to turn into a mountain.

Note: This is the 7th post in our Change is Good series

While intelligent people can often simplify the complex, a fool is more likely to complicate the simple. -Anonymous

"Just do it."

"I'm lovin' it."

"Think different."

Simple slogans sell. Simple policies are easy to follow. Simple marketing works.

People don't really want to have goods marketed towards them. Get your customer bogged down in the technicalities of your products and you've lost them. Sit down and think about what your company's goal is. I don't mean "sell a million units" or "increase productivity by 43%."

Simplify your life. Simplify your business. One Nordstrom employee summed it up:

"Because we don't have many rules, we don't have to worry about breaking them. We are judged on our performance, not on our obedience to orders."

Note: This is the 6th post in our Change is Good series

When you're up to your rear end in alligators, it's hard to remember that your purpose is draining the swamp. -George Napper

The world just keeps changing faster and faster, and you've gotta keep up. Systems and policies that have been in place for 30 years are suddenly outdated (well, maybe not so suddenly).

Removing barriers is all about finding the roadblocks to your success and removing them. You can push forward and innovate all you want, but if there's a bad or outdated policy, or system, or a terrible employee on the back end, you'll never take your business to the next level.

Send out a survey, e-mail campaign, or even (gasp!) talk to your customers. Find out what you're doing right, and what you could do better (or who you could do without).

Note: This is the 5th post in our Change is Good series

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. -Mahatma Ghandi

You've all heard the quote "a chain is only as good as its weakest link," and how it applies to a business. The problem with this metaphor is that in a chain, every link is doing exactly the same thing. It's just holding onto the links to its left and right. Not such a hard job.

I'd say a business is more like the human body. It's a complex system, with many parts that are connected, working together to stay alive. Each part has its own job, and does it well. A heart pumps blood. It wouldn't make a good lung.

It's the same thing in business. If your marketing department is great at using innovative, off-the-wall marketing techniques, don't make them release run-of-the-mill press releases or utilize standard marketing strategies. If your best sales guy has his customer database all set up on his Mac, don't force him to use a company PC.

Give the job to the person you know can do it. Market to the customers who are already sold on your brand. Know yourself, your employees, and your customers well, and don't make blind decisions based on "policy."

Note: This is the 4th post in our Change is Good series

Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail. -Charles Kettering

If you take away one lesson from our 21-part series, this is it. Every book you ever read about succeeding in business or in life teaches the same lesson. You're not going to succeed unless you believe you can. Call it what you want. Self confidence, "The Secret", the law of attraction. Anything that you ever wanted to achieve is impossible, until you can wrap your mind around it.

What are your long-term goals? Retirement? A bigger house? More money?

What about for your business? More revenue? A recognizable brand? A killer new marketing strategy?

You should do two things. Make long-term goals for yourself and your team that far exceed your current goals. Break those goals down into small parts. What's the *very next thing* that should get done to achieve those goals? Something small, and easy to accomplish. Take these baby steps toward your goals every day. See if you can think of 3 small things that will bring you closer to what you want to achieve. Then do it again tomorrow.

Then, once you know your goals. Believe that you can reach them. Visualize yourself having met that goal. Do it every day. Repeat your goals and visualize. It may seem cliche, but you won't get there unless you believe. Your great attitude will be contagious among everyone you meet.