So, what are you doing with the rest of your life?

I have an old friend. Over the years he has built up quite the business in his sector. We had a catch-up over drinks recently, and our conversation turned to business. Obviously. He started to tell me why he thought he had been successful over the years. And the story was fascinating.

They would close for the Christmas holidays every year, and I think many of us do too, that period between Christmas and New Year. Here's where things got weird. On closing day, after 'Secret Santa' and the happy holiday wishes. After the last staff member had left the building. My friend tells would get into his car, and then cycle round the block and pull up back outside his office. He would go through the ritual every year without fail. And his business is 28 years old.?

What do you think he was doing? He would put on an alter ego that's what. Looking up at his building he would look at the signage. Was it the most current version of the firm's logo? And the windows, were they sparkling clean? What could be seen through the windows from outside, and what impression did this give? Inch by inch my friend would go through every aspect of his business, starting with the facade. When he approached the door, he would ask himself. Who has keys? When was the access code last changed? What is the procedure for when a team member leaves? Did they hand the keys back? How easy would it be to have a copy of the key made??

The evaluation would continue once he had unlocked the front door. Were the lights left on? Who turned them on and what protocol was there to see if the lights got turned off again at the end of the day? What would happen if the air-conditioning was set to come on an hour later and off an hour earlier? Would anyone notice if the temperature was raised a degree in summer and lowered a degree in winter? Was the reception area inviting, and clean, and what sort of impression would it leave on a guest?

I am not going to go through every item he mentioned, you get the idea. He would build a list of all the corrections that would make his company new again for the New Year.?

Of course he would also go through the traditional business side of things.?

And then he would spend the holidays writing a book. Not just any book. He would write a manual for every staff member and new hire. Fantastically detailed, it would explain every protocol and the reasoning behind the request. From software usage and licensing to making his brand a 'good coffee' brand and speeding up the time to answer calls and get back to clients. He revelled in the minutiae. And his business thrived because of it.

When he eventually gave me time to speak, I picked my words carefully, not to burst his bubble. But I had to tell him about the key element he was leaving out of the mix. "Simulations," I said.

In my experience working with startups and entrepreneurs, I find people mostly spending their planning time on revenue. Not many on the?minutiae,?the little details that are not found on the balance sheet by name, but still contribute massively to a company's bottom line.?Great that you are attending the trade show. Not great that you haven't trained up in the soft skills you need to make that event blow up for you.?

I told my friend about my experience with simulations. And why, even though what he was doing was great, that if he added simulations to the mix that 'great' could be flipped into awesome.

And then he asked how he could get onto the waiting list for the Barcelona Planning Summit I am hosting in January. "I need to learn about these simulations of yours," he said. I realised then that it wasn't just his weird business planning ritual that made him successful. It was because after 28 years in business he was still curious about learning how to make it even better.?

I told him to leave the short-list application with me, that I for sure knew people who knew people, who could get him a spot for Barcelona. ?

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