Religious leaders of 2 of the world’s leading faiths have been urging their followers to reflect. Muslims have just finished a month of fasting. Jews are coming to the end of the 10 days of Penitence, culminating in the Day of Atonement

Let’s be honest with ourselves. As you sit in your place of worship for hours on end, few managed to remain totally focused on personal issues. Eventually we switch over to other thoughts, such as “how the xxx am I going to get over THAT problem at work”.

Yup, in the midst of trying to say “sorry”, you are back to the old money game. So, in the spirit of the month, I wish to introduce you to three links I have found just recently, which help to prod you forward in your deliberations – personnal or otherwise.

First , let me start with something refreshing, tweeted by marketing guru Guy Kawasaki. We all try to brand ourselves. We all look to be different compared to others. Sometimes – maybe as in trying to change internally – the obvious is right in front of us and we don’t see it.

The link refers to the use of colours in creating a commercial position. Many spend so much time looking for cool slogans or fonts that the power of colour choice is forgotten. I love the purity of the anecdote about Facebook.

I once asked Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook why he chose blue for his site design… “I’m color blind, it’s the only color I can see.” …and now 500 Million people around the world stare at a mostly blue website for hours each week.

Next, as with introspection, a successful business looks to avoid mistakes.  The basic argument here is to know your numbers.

I have come across small firms in the past year that believe they are doing well, but have made little attempt to extrapolate future financial positions. Quelle surprise when they then run into cash flow difficulties, because the CEO has not “drilled down” into the figures until it is too late. Big ouch!

And finally, I wish to direct you to an illuminating interview with Eric Ryan. (Registration may be required). He saw change – also known as innovation – as a way to move forward. The positive results were reflcted in better internal leadership and sales growth.

So if he can learn to do it………..Something to consider over the next year.