Four Steps to Being 'King of the Economic Jungle'

To compete in today's economic jungle, you need to embrace change and respond to it better than your competitors. Those leaders who do so recognize the opportunity such an approach can bring.

Therefore, if you want to survive and prosper in today's marketplace, you need to anticipate your clients' needs and respond quickly and efficiently. If you don't, your competition will seize the new opportunity and leave you behind.

To position yourself advantageously, learn as much as you can about your client, because he or she is your highest priority. Just as a lion only targets large prey, you must focus and expend your energy strictly on the clients who will provide the greatest return for your efforts.

Below are suggestions for how you can be different and gain the competitive edge.

1. Be different: Fire your clients. To strengthen your business, keep only the clients with whom you have a good relationship, who consistently use your problem-solving services and who are loyal to your business.

2. Be different: Make a personal visit. Clients are the center of your business, and e-mail or telephone calls can't take the place of a personal visit. Many companies also waste time and effort trying to capture business that is not worth the effort. The solution is to insist on direct contact with

potential customers. There is no substitute for the firsthand information you will gain from a face-to-face meeting.

3. Be different: Have the right attitude. Your clients' power resides in their level of contentment with your services, and your power lies in determining the best and the most profitable actions to take with your clients. Develop an attitude of service to show your clients that they are important to you, and put that attitude into action every day. Also, bring your clients into your circle of influence. You will gain their trust, and the more they trust you, the more they will promote your business, resulting in an ever-widening circle of contacts for your company.

4. Be different: Learn from failure. A strong leader takes responsibility for failure and uses it to the best advantage. Failure is an integral part of success. Accept failure and learn from it. Recognize that every hour you spend dwelling on failure could be spent creating a successful project. Do not let failure stop you from trying again.

When you get to know your clients and treat them like your No. 1 priority, you'll capture the "lion's share" of the market. Practice the strategies above so you can better embrace change, meet client demands and combine action with a positive attitude. You can then create a vision for your business and your future success.