Some years ago, a friend and colleague offered a valuable insight into how he viewed an area of interest to him. His family was in the book publishing and manufacturing business. After college and an early career in sales, he joined the family business, for which he eventually took responsibility. In the ensuing years and well into his retirement, he was captivated by books.
I visited him at his upstate New York home, and he took me into his personal library. I commented on the sheer volume of books he had. I asked him how long he had been a book collector. He responded with a smile and told me “Well, I’m not really a collector; more of an accumulator.” I was confused and he went on to explain that a rare book collector has specific objectives in mind, while an accumulator simply reacts to opportunities to own certain books as they come along. In other words, collectors work with purpose, an intention and a plan. Accumulators simply react to opportunities as they become known.
In my work facilitating strategy and planning sessions with key executives, I notice a similarity. A key question is this: Is your business acting as an “accumulator”; reacting to circumstances and opportunities as they present themselves, or as a “collector” moving your enterprise forward with a purpose, an intention and a plan?
Clearly, a certain amount of success can be made by reacting to opportunities as they come along. But if your aim is business results that far exceed the competition and are sustainable over time, it’s hard to beat “the PIP”; purpose, intention and plan. And a good way to start is with a senior team strategy and planning retreat.
For more information, contact me at joe@ajstrategy.com
The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.

Joseph P. Truncale, Ph.D., CAE, is the Founder and Principal of Alexander Joseph Associates, a privately held consultancy specializing in executive business advisory services with clients throughout the graphic communications industry.
Joe spent 30 years with NAPL, including 11 years as President and CEO. He is an adjunct professor at NYU teaching graduate courses in Executive Leadership; Financial Management and Analysis; Finance for Marketing Decisions; and Leadership: The C Suite Perspective. He may be reached at Joe@ajstrategy.com. Phone or text: (201) 394-8160.