Mort

For the last month, we have been feasting on our backyard citrus crop.  Harvesting the abundant bounty got me to thinking about the ordeal I went through in early fall.  I had the burdensome task of pruning five citrus trees, all in various states of disrepair.  All of them had been pruned a year earlier, but in that short amount of time they had put on anywhere from three to five feet of new growth.  The trees certainly appeared much larger than when they had last been pruned, but their shapes had lost that nice rounded “pure Florida orange juice” logo on the carton look.  They more closely resembled a silhouette of Mort from the original Bazooka Joe comics.

What I was impressed with, though, other than the size and number of thorns on citrus trees, was the fact that, on all that new growth, there was no fruit to be found at all.  Oh, there was plenty of fruit on the trees, but it was all on the old growth.  Not only that, but the uncontrolled new growth made it much more difficult to get to the fruit.  While the new growth was what everyone saw when looking at the trees, most of the fruit was concealed behind the façade of productive branches.

That got me thinking about businesses I have seen.  Lots of growth, plenty of show, but no profit or cash to show for it.

• Has unproductive growth gotten out of hand in your business?
• Have you added new products, employees, and sales revenues only to see flat or declining profits?
• Are you busier than ever, but without an increase in cash flow to show for it?
• Is the productive core of your business being choked out by the new and greatest thing?

Perhaps it’s time to put on the gloves, the long-sleeved shirt, hat, and other protective gear, and get to pruning out the non-productive fluff.  You’ll have a better-looking business, more production, and profits that are much easier to reach.  Check out the “Seeing is Believing” blog to see how we can help.