Greetings. It’s Halloween…a day and night of costumes, scary decorations, candy, completely over-the-top parties (for some people), and lots of possibilities. A day when kids of all ages can become anyone or anything they choose to imagine simply by buying or creating a new persona. And a day filled with important implications for all of us, and all of our companies and organizations, if we dare to think about it with an open mind.

In an important sense, all of us could use a modestly extreme makeover at least once a year. Because all of us, and all of the places where we work each day, could always be better and more innovative at the things that matter most. But in the press of our daily responsibilities, our cluttered in-boxes, and our urgent challenges we struggle to simply get the job done, to try harder without necessarily doing better.

But what if we could pause for a day and imagine a much better way to do the most important things? What if we could create a brand new persona, complete with a cool new costume, that represents a much better way to envision, produce, and support the products, services, and solutions we offer? What if we could figure out how to step into a new character that is much more compelling and valuable for our customers?

Halloween, or any day for that matter, is a perfect day for stretching our thinking about what is truly possible! And a perfect excuse for trying.

I’m often reminded of the following Chinese proverb:

When is the best time to plant a tree?

Twenty years ago.

When is the second best time to plant a tree?

Now.

Why not use this fun and spooky celebration to plant your next tree…even if it is filled with ghosts and other scary creatures that will have to be fine tuned along the way?

We win in business and in life when we dare to be more remarkable, and when we step into character in ways that deliver greater value to the customers we have the privilege to serve.

Cheers!