Old-time television viewers remember the show, Dr. Kildare. When he wasn't being kind to everyone, a voice would interrupt warning him that an emergency had arrived by saying: "Paging Dr. Kildare."

In a hospital intensive care unit, the key measures of health for a patient's particular condition are constantly monitored.

If a measure falls outside the normal range, an alarm goes off so that the patient gets immediate attention, even if no nurse or doctor happens to be watching the monitoring unit at that time.

These monitors don't indicate the cause of the problem but do focus attention on the symptom of where help help is needed. By having a medically trained person then look at the patient, the appropriate action can quickly be diagnosed and taken.

When one of those alarms goes off, you can be sure that someone will soon be paging Dr. Kildare.

Obviously, then, the most useful monitoring incorporates several elements:

1. Something that tracks important trends

2. A way of drawing attention to the trends when they change

3. An appropriately trained person on hand to quickly and accurately interpret the situation

4. A way for the interpreter to quickly and effectively communicate with others who may be needed to take the appropriate action

The monitoring system in an intensive care unit is substantially more sophisticated than the traffic monitoring done by a radio station. The driver has to do the second, third, and fourth activities without further assistance from the radio station.

To relate this analogy to your enterprise, you need much more assistance than just having the shift in trends be identified. Today, most people stop there. That's a big mistake.

You also need for the shift to quickly receive the attention the shift in irresistible forces deserves from knowledgeable people who can take the appropriate action as soon as possible.

An effective way to do this is to link the information to those who must take action, and assist them in learning how to effectively interpret and respond to the timely information through simulation-based exercises.

What does your organization look like now, by comparison?

If you are like many, irresistible forces are shifting unobserved all the time. After several years, you may think that something adverse is going on if you cannot meet your budget goals.

By that time, the power of the irresistible force may be so great that you cannot hope to adjust to it very fast. Sales and profits may plunge for years. If you survive, it will be in a much weakened condition and after having fallen way behind your competitors.

Donald Mitchell is an author of seven books including Adventures of an Optimist, The 2,000 Percent Squared Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage. Read about creating breakthroughs through 2,000 percent solutions and receive tips by e-mail by registering for free at

http://www.2000percentsolution.com .