Earlier this week I was doing some research on the Internet into a quote I wanted to use on LinkedIn (you can view my profile here). The quote was: "You always miss 100% of the shots you never take." I like that, it gets across the fact that action is better than inaction, even if you don’t always achieve what you aimed at. The source of the quote: the legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky.

Not an obvious person to look to for inspirational quotes; but then, I found another one from The Great One: "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be." Apply that to business, and for me the meaning is: you can't afford to rest on your laurels. If you are satisfied with where you are today, you're likely to be disappointed tomorrow because the game will have moved on.

That's not to say that you should be looking to develop new products or services - after all, there are only so many ways accountancy services can be packaged, for example. But you still need to be aware of what is happening in the market; are your competitors doing things that you aren't? How is your company perceived by your clients? How you go about marketing your company, how you differentiate yourself from your clients, is something that you should review regularly. An annual review of what you are doing, how you are perceived, whether your marketing is achieving its goals, should be as much a part of the routine as reviewing your business plan.

Gretzky may just be the greatest player the NHL has ever seen. Not everyone has the ability to see where the puck is going to be - and no matter how much effort you put into reviewing, predicting and forecasting, it's not an exact science. But you should always be striving to get there ahead of the competition, rather than following on behind.