The infamous Sherlock Holmes and his loyal confidant Dr. Watson had just solved a grueling case. Both were exhausted, so they decided to take a trip to the English countryside for a camping outing and some much needed rest and relaxation. After setting up camp, they sat down by the fire to eat a wonderful meal and indulge in a rare vintage bottle of wine. A little while later, they lay down for the night and went to sleep.
Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend awake. “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replied, “I see millions and millions of stars.”
“What does that tell you?” Holmes questioned.
Watson pondered for a minute. “Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.”
“What does it tell you?” Watson asked of Holmes.
Holmes was silent for a minute, and then spoke. “Watson, you silly fool—it tells me that some bastard has stolen our tent!”
We all have our Dr. Watson moments. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it’s not a way of life. The gaming industry is a fast-paced and hectic business to be in, regardless of what side of the supply equation you are on. This extremely difficult economy has raised pressure levels on an already stressful business. At times, we may find ourselves operating on autopilot and we can miss seeing the obvious. Have you found yourself in this position?
There are times when we must step back and reassess what we are trying to accomplish. Is it still possible? Are we still on track? Are we missing anything? That’s true for gaming industry publishers, suppliers, operators and pretty much everybody that calls gaming home. In the case of CEM, we have a lot of narrowly focused planning meetings. They serve their purpose, but we do something else that is critical to our way of doing things. Oddly enough, it’s another form of meeting, but it’s different than all the others and occurs only quarterly. Everybody attends and the agenda is 100 percent open with one caveat: We explore new ideas and improvements to existing ways. In these meetings, everyone has an equal voice. It’s in these meetings that some of our most successful initiatives are born.
Difficult economic times, such as what we have today, are often the catalyst for seismic changes to the business landscape. It can be our decision to ride that wave deliberately and to our advantage, or we can let the outcomes be a surprise. When the pressure is up for business, it’s no time to have the blinders on. While it’s natural to fall prey to a bad case of tunnel vision when we have to work twice as hard and twice as long, it can be avoided with exercises designed to foster awareness and creativity. To be successful, we need to schedule it, plan it and train for it.
Peter E. Mead
Publisher,
Casino Enterprise Management
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