Who? Frank? Frank Sanbeans? Yea, I remember him. He is one easy going guy. When I ask him how business is going, he answers, “It is good enough”. He considers it a virtue to be content with such things as you have, so he is happy with things just the way they are.

Of course, it is Frank’s inalienable right to determine what happiness means for himself. The problem with being content with good enough is sometimes we stop short of all we are destined to be. Frank tells me he only needs X amount of sales to get by. Sure he dreams of a bigger shop but does not want to get his hopes up.

Think about it this way. The only way to consistently achieve all your stated goals is to set the bar too low. If you are never failing, then, believe it or not, falling on your face for having tried something new would be progress.

Frank has a good product and could be providing jobs and opportunities for other people. By placing “get by” in the crosshairs, he ends up hitting it. Bullseye. Frank also ends up focusing on sales rather than adding value. He could be innovating to help his customers in new and unexpected ways, so his customers also are losing out.

Of course, setting the bar consistently too high would set anyone up for discouragement. But playing it small has never caused big things to happen. Our business exists to put a little rock in your shoe. We know a little discomfort can create change.

Life is too short to stagnate. Set your goals outside your reach, or what is the use of a goal? Challenge and stretch yourself as a company and as a person with daily, weekly and quarterly goals. Where should you set your next target?

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. Zig Ziglar

In the 26 years that we have been helping small companies with their marketing and advertising, we have seen almost every kind of difficulty one can imagine. Throughout this month, we are sharing some of the most common problems using fictitious characters in a humorous way. While all of the details in these stories are true, the names have been changed, to protect the guilty. Should any of the stories sound familiar, it is our desire that they would help steer you around some pitfalls. Stay tuned for more Complex Characters of Capitalism.