The trench warfare of World War I was a ghastly spectacle. A generation of young European men literally vanished on the battlefields of Western Europe as the two sides, england and france versus germany ran their troops into the meat grinder of machine gun fire...often for little or no strategic advantage.

It is impossible to comprehend the misery that must have accompanied those men night and day, watching those horrors unfold before their eyes month after month, year after year with no visible progress or victory.

For the commanders who ordered those fruitless attacks at such a horrific cost, it must have been maddening, knowing what they were asking their men to sacrifice so much while achieving so little. Why they were paralyzed and unable to alter their strategy to affect a different outcome is perplexing, and still debated.

One man, Winston Churchill, who eventually led England and the rest of the free world through WWII, was far from paralyzed and he brilliantly conceived a rather unconventional plan to use the Royal Navy to surprise the enemy, break the stalemate, and decisively end the war.

His strategy was simple, although dubiously scrutinized by the war cabinet: sail a large group of gun ships to Constantinople which was the well defended gatekeeper to the Black Sea, blow it off the map with a naval bombardment, and thus create an opening for an end run route to the German's undefended rear. By then landing a massive ground force on the beaches of Southeastern France, the German army would have then been surrounded, forcing them to fight a two front war.

Unfortunately, after loosing a number of ships in the Dardanelle Straights due to mines, the resolve of the admirals in charge began to waver. The subsequent hesitation ultimately led to a complete collapse of the plan, which ended with enormous casualties and zero military advantage. History shows us that the Turks defending Constantinople were on the verge of total defeat when the war cabinet demanded Mr. Churchill cut his losses and end the campaign.

For those of us commanding our own small business battalions in this era of profit stagnation, maintaining an open mind, creative vision, and a willingness to take decisive action is of paramount importance. The fact that margins are razor thin; making those decisions is a matter of survival with little room for error which makes the following quote by Teddy Roosevelt, quite relevant:

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

So how do we as stone fabricators make and complete the right decisions that will free us from the gridlock of tepid demand, expanding competition, and pricing pressure? How do we effectively bounce back from the wrong decisions we will inevitably make? And finally, how do we maintain the momentum of a creative mind to avoid the death knell of indecision?

First, never stop seeking advice and wise counsel from those business people who've been through these times before, in the interest of gaining specific insight into our unique and possibly isolated circumstances. By amassing perspectives from multiple sources, and from a wide variety of backgrounds, the greater the likelihood that a big decision we are contemplating is sound, is likely to produce positive results, and not so risky that it could spell disaster.

Second, in the face of mistakes we will surely make, we must adopt Mr. Churchill's WWII mantra, "Never, never, never give up!" Until we have shed every last tear, bled every last drop of blood, and spent every dime we can put our hands on in the interest of winning this war of attrition, we MUST keep pushing! We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and carry on.

Third, avoid any and ALL negative influences, messages, and thinking. Listening to the never ending drumbeat of bad news and failure in the media or having coffee with a cynical, doom and gloom complainer is NOT going to inspire us to make decisions, take the risks, and fight for victory. Pessimism will only instill fear and the paralyzing worry that accompanies it will kill us.

The British example in the Dardanelles is instructive on every point. They made what history indicates was the right decision to seek a route to the Black Sea, but upon resistance and casualties, they failed to keep pushing, retreated, and ultimately gave up. In the end they reverted to the stale strategy that took so many lives for so little advantage.

May we be as creative and audacious as Mr. Churchill in the decisions we make, and more resolved than his admirals and war cabinet in the obstacles that will inevitably confront us. May we all be willing to do whatever it takes to win this war!

Aaron J. Crowley is the founder and president of FabricatorsFriend.com , the exclusive promoter of Stone Sleeve fabricator sleeves and Bullet Proof aprons.

")