Don't get ambushed

When my kids were young, they would hide in a tree by our driveway, armed with supersoaker water guns. They would hide up there, anxiously awaiting for my car to pull up, giggling to themselves in anticipation of how they would "surprise" me as i got out of my car.

And of course I would feign complete shock and surprise every time, as they yelled "fire" and shot streams of water at me from above.

Then one day, I went to Walmart and bought myself an arsenal of water guns. And when i came home from work that day, as I opened my car door and got out, I surprised them with a barrage of water.  They were so surprised, sitting up there in the tree. My kids never imagined that I would catch on - that's the innocence of kids. They got stuck in their routine and never thought that I would change the game on them!

Sometimes at work, we get stuck in our routine, complacent, expecting similar results with our customers, with our employees;  and we think that we don't have to stay on our toes, stay alert.

I'm reminded of inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movies - he tells his helper, Cato, to surprise attack him so that he stays mentally vigilant.

We don't have to manage by anxiety, with a sense that things will turn on us.  But we have to stay alert, we have to stay sharp, hungry. We can't take things for granted. We have to be prepared that our competition will go after us, that the market might change.  By being vigilant, by thinking through scenarios, we remain  prepared ... and we avoid getting ambushed