Paul is a classic example of being a salesman of the flavor of the month. Every month or two, he sells tasty changes to his strategy. This month, he’s decided that he will handle managing the sales and recruiting team himself. Last month, his branch managers were charged with that task. Two months prior to that, he had divided his staff into pods led by a senior team member. While any one of these initiatives could have worked, none were given the time required to achieve the desired result of improving his operations.

If you consider yourself an entrepreneur in our business, chances are that you engage in this type of behavior from time to time. Your situation may not be as extreme as Paul’s, yet the damage that you may be causing your firm or your reputation as a leader may be just as severe. While we often hear about politicians flip flopping about issues in our society, this problem is not limited to elections and politics.

Great leaders create tangible goals, evaluate areas for improvement, weigh their options, get input from their support system, plan a strategy, and then explain and implement that strategy. Then, they stick with the plan giving it time to take root and have the desired impact. While this may not seem as exciting as trying a different strategic flavor every so often, it certainly creates much tastier and lasting results.