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Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? We all think "I'm doing what I do best," but it goes much deeper than that.

Are we really doing what we do best when each time we think of a new type of work we say, "I can do that." Before you know it, you're off in a different direction when you never really got the last direction going strong.

Every time you take on a new type of work, it distracts you from the established work. The more time you focus on the new distraction, the more your established work suffers in quality and productivity. The longer you focus on one type of work, the better you, your estimators and your field crews will get at learning the tricks that make it profitable.

This is not to say you shouldn't expand your business, but make sure the new types of work you take on make sense.

Strategic planning

So how do you identify what you should focus on? This is where strategic planning comes in. Don't let the term scare you. Strategic planning is critical. The amount of time you should spend on it depends on the size of your company, the market you serve, and so on, but no matter what, every business needs to do some strategic planning.