Dead-end Thinking:  “I don’t have any choice.” How many times have we heard ourselves or someone else reluctantly accepting an undesirable option saying these very words? We say them under our breath, through gritted teeth or at the top of our lungs, with a frustration that is obvious to anyone listening.

Would you use those words when a plumber, standing in water ankle-deep in your basement on a Sunday, presents an estimate twice what he quoted over the phone?

How about when the bill for your child’s college tuition is increased (because of “economic pressures”) to a level usually charged to students from out of state or another planet?

What might you say to the airline agent that charged $100 to return your lost suitcase because you drove outside their delivery area?

How many unjust out-of-state traffic tickets have been paid because it would have taken more time, money and emotional energy to fight them in court?

What can you imagine saying to a New York street vendor selling umbrellas that triple in price just as you get out of the cab in a driving rainstorm?

I don’t have any choice may be the response to each of these situations, but it is not the answer. What is really being said is that the alternatives are lousy. What we are left with is the least offensive of several offensive solutions.

In fact, we always have choices. But because of circumstances, pressures of time and money or just plain habit, reasonable alternatives are not always apparent.

People think in unique and individual patterns honed over many years, shaped by experiences. These patterns define a course or direction that is familiar, even comfortable, if not always successful. Changing these patterns is almost impossible without an outside stimulus.

Socrates, the Greek philosopher and teacher in the fourth century B.C., developed a process for challenging unacceptable solutions. By identifying the motivation behind a desired outcome, alternative solutions almost jump to the surface. His method is adaptable and applicable to most, if not all, business scenarios.

By redefining the desired result without the caveats of the past, new paths are exposed. What was once a dead end can become a highway of choices complete with a variety of routes to the same desired destination.

Are Annual Reports at a Dead End?  The annual report as a financial document is a waste of time, money and talent. Annual reports are no longer relevant as a primary source for financial information. There are four cable television networks providing detailed financial data on every publicly-traded company. Add to that list several thousand internet sites with their own agendas, as well as each company’s own website that provides the most current financial information available.

As a sales tool the annual report also falls far behind the company’s website in its ability to motivate using motion and music. A printed publication just can’t compete with active and interactive media.

However, as a direct communication between a shareholder and those managing his money without the second-guessing of paid pundits, an individual printed report is hard to beat. If it is designed and written to maximize a personal connection between the principals of the company and its shareholders, there is nothing better or more trusted for the investor than ink on paper.

Visit our website for examples of how Essex Two has help created annual reports designed to make a point, connect with shareholders and produce a return on investment.

Worth your time:  A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Bryson does for readers of this book what Essex Two does for its clients: he presents and clarifies complex concepts in ways that enhance understanding. This book examines concepts that form the foundation of our very existence so they are easy to comprehend, without losing our sense of scale and wonder.