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One of my first big technology projects involved custom programming for a point-of-sale (POS – and you thought it stood for something else 😉 ) system. Programmers were on site almost round the clock for months and the cost was out of control. Nightmare doesn’t begin to describe it. Disaster doesn’t either. It was a mammoth failure. The only thing that came out of it was a deep education for all of us involved. Mostly, let’s don’t ever do this again!

But you can’t just stop using technology.

You can’t neglect to put in the work to future-proof your business.

And we all need to find ways to be more efficient.

The question is, “How can we best accomplish these things?”

People. That’s the answer. A goodly number of them. And not just anybody, but people qualified to provide valuable insights. People who may disagree with each other, too.

If I had it to do over, my POS project in the early 1980s would have been handled differently. Back then we had technology folks who claimed to know what they were doing. Things were so new I failed because I trusted they knew more than me. I knew what information I wanted, but I had no idea how to get it. The technology nerds at the time were arrogant in their prowess because at the time, Management Information Systems wasn’t even a thing. As business people we were sort of hostage to the few people around us who claimed to know how to get stuff done. Part of the failure was the early stage of the tech. Part of it was my human failure to incorporate more brains into the room to figure it out.

You SHOULD be giving attention to these activities and areas of your business: technology, future-proofing, and efficiency. Not everything will involve a computer, but much of it will.

Today, I want to spark your imagination and give you some practical tips that may help in your quest to elevate these things inside your business.

Step 1 – Get the right people in the room.

This isn’t always easy because too often I have found people do it too quickly without enough forethought. They think of the obvious players to have in the room, but it’s often the least obvious who can provide the greater value.

Make your list of the usual suspects.

Now, make your list of the most unusual suspects. There are people who have an insight that the most brilliant people in the room may lack. I’ve encountered countless times when a low-level team member recognized something that the brainiacs in the room were overlooked because he was dealing with the problem every day. They weren’t.

Who touches this process? Who does it every single day? Are they in this room providing input? Make sure they’ve got a seat at the table.

Think of anybody who may be able to provide insights to help you figure this out. I’d strongly encourage you to assemble a very small team, including yourself (I like the number 3 because it’s small and odd-numbered) to review WHO is going to be involved in vetting the projects.

Nothing is more important than in assembling the right team to help provide good answers and solutions. This team will provide the discussion and debate necessary to provide the best possible answers to all questions, and perhaps more importantly, they’ll be able to think of all the best questions to ask.

Pick the right people and don’t be afraid to invite outsiders.

Step 2 – Dive deeply inside your operation.

Question everything. “Why do we do it that way?” was among my top questions. Always.

Find out the reason. It can be enlightening.

It’s remanence of the story of the man who’s wife sent him to the store for a ham. After he bought it, she asked him why he didn’t have the butcher cut off the end of the ham. He asked his wife why she wanted the end cut off. She said that her mother had always done it that way and that was reason enough for her. Since the wife’s mother was visiting, they asked her why she always cut off the end of the ham. Mother replied that this was the way her mother did it; Mother, daughter and the man then decided to call grandmother and solve this three-generation mystery. Grandmother promptly replied that she cut the end of the ham because it’s the only way it’d fit in her pan.

Ask questions. Lots of questions. Find out why you’re doing what you’re doing. You may learn there are reasons just as stupid as having too small of a pan.

Step 3 – Dive more deeply into other industries.

Industry tunnel vision is real. We’re all prone to suffer it. We see “best practices” in our industry and assume that’s literally “the best way.” Often times, it’s not. It may simply be the best-known way by so-called industry leaders.

Copycat cultures in every industry are dangerous. It limits beliefs, stifles creativity and gives a vanilla sameness to things. Look at any industry and you’ll quickly see it. Listen to advertising for car dealers. They’re all doing the same thing and saying the same thing. Why should a customer go to one dealership over another? No reason. Not usually.

When you more closely examine how other industries tackled a similar problem you begin to expand your thinking. Make appointments with other CEOs or operators willing to share with you stories of how they’re tackling these issues. Take your small team with you (another reason why I don’t like to assemble more than 2 other people to go with me). Let them hear and see the insights of other industries.

Step 4 – Assemble the information so the discussions and debates can be lively. And fair.

It’s important to put every idea on trial for its life. But it’s equally important that the trial be fair. Don’t omit important information because somebody already has an end in mind.

When parties start squaring off in opposition to one another on what course to take, at some time of your choosing stop the discussion. Then ask each side to take the opposing view. Force them to flip positions so the truth can emerge. This also helps each side more clearly see the viewpoint of their “opponents.”

Step 5 – Try for consensus, but accept the best answer for your enterprise.

Personally, I’d like to reach consensus if possible because it makes for a higher-performing culture. It’s not always possible though. The way I attempt this is to influence and persuade. Not manipulate or coerce. But sometimes people don’t see it. Or don’t want to see it. They’re too dug into their position and unable to see anything beyond their own biases and viewpoints. That’s okay, but you can’t be swayed from doing what’s best by it.

Give yourself whatever time is necessary to make the decision. Then assemble the team and let them know the decision. Everybody must accept it and without moaning. Or resentment. Or threat of sabotage. Make sure everybody salutes the decisions and commits to making it a success.

Step 6 – Don’t be afraid to course-correct.

Even with all that prep work the decision may prove wrong. Or slightly off course. That’s okay.

Regroup and figure out what you can learn now that you’re some distance into the project. What isn’t working as you thought it would? Is something working better that nobody saw coming? What has changed?

Questions, questions, questions. Leverage them as long as you must to drill down to what actions NOW need to be taken to get things on track.

Make the changes as quickly as you can. Let the team see how willing you are to course correct. This isn’t about somebody’s ability to be “right,” but rather it’s about getting it right. No matter what.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Randy

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Today in America we’re heading into a holiday weekend, Labor Day.

Monday will be a holiday for many folks, providing a 3-day weekend. This is typically considered the last holiday of the summer or the first holiday of autumn. After this weekend we’ll hit a dry spell until THE holiday season with Thanksgiving in late November.

But a holiday can be a single day or even part of a day – a time spent away from the daily grind. Usually with family. Or maybe in solitude. Whatever suits you.

Hustle and grind are common battle cries in entrepreneurship and leadership. I’m the son of what Tom Brokaw called, “the greatest generation.” World War II veterans. Old school guys who knew a thing or three about working hard, doing whatever it took and grinding it out. So my generation – baby boomers – largely learned from our parents and grandparents (who were survivors of the Great Depression). Work ethic was a given for my generation.

It wasn’t a badge of honor so much as it was an expectation. It’s just what you did. I know because the first decade of my marriage I stayed in hot water for putting in 80 hour work weeks. I didn’t do it because I loved it. I did it because it’s what had been instilled in me. It’s just what you did if you cared at all about your career, your family and achievement. And I cared deeply about all of those.

Admittedly, I was (and still am, though less so) a stress junkie. I thrived on the chaos and pace of business. Yes, it was addictive. Yes, I loved it. Still do, although now I prefer to control it a bit more.

Personally, I don’t find anything honorable about neglecting yourself or your family. I don’t find anything worthy of glorification in the current hustle and grind evangelism. Those aren’t equal to “work ethic” in my book. But today, it’s less about those things and more about what we do with our time away from work.

Three R’s leap to my mind when I think about stepping away – whether it’s for a full vacation, a 3-day weekend, a day off or half a day off.

Rest. Recovery. Rejuvenation.

This week two superstar NFL players have been in the news. Both are 29 years old. Both have retired from the sport. And both cited pain and a loss of joy in playing the game they loved. Both have mentioned the word “recovery,” too. In short, both Andrew Luck and Rob Gronkowski say they need to take care of themselves now.

You and I aren’t engaged in physical battle like NFL players, but the stress we endure can and will kill us. The pressures to lead and manage an enterprise are real. Physically, mentally, emotionally. Our lives – including our families – pay a price for our ambition and work. Yes, they may derive benefits, too. But there’s always a price to be paid.

My wife will tell you that I’m likely the last person qualified to give advice on this score because I NEVER took my vacation days. For decades I had three to five weeks of vacation and the most I ever took were a few days here and a few days there. I’ve never taken a full week, much less two. I just never felt comfortable doing it, so I didn’t. I wish I could have. I wish I would have, but while I knew I could physically, I was unable to mentally.

Now, as a more mature leader and business guy I know some things I wish I had known when I was younger. But I didn’t. Things come to us when they come to us. Better late than never I guess.

Here’s what I’ve learned that I wish I had learned earlier. Perhaps it can help you if you’re an American businessperson facing the prospect of a 3-day weekend.

One, don’t do it for others. Do it for yourself. Do it for your career. Do it for your business. Do it for others.

Guilting people into rest, recovery and rejuvenation won’t work. Well, it won’t be effective. Nagging people into doing what you want is a poor, but often used strategy. As leaders, we resist it. Probably because our DNA is to take charge and influence the outcomes. For some (I never suffered this because I’m not that confident), they think the business will stumble without them. I rather feared things would go even more smoothly in my absence. 😉

Like weight control, fitness or fixing bad habits – you need to do it for yourself. You are a resource. For yourself, your family and your company. Deplete the resource and you’re no good to anybody. Focus on doing what others want you to do – even knowing it’s beneficial to you – and you’ll avoid doing it.

Smokers don’t often successful quit because their family nags them. Overweight executives tend to lose weight when they get sick and tired of it themselves. Not when family and friends ride their back about it.

What will do the trick? I wish I knew.

It may help for you to realize the number people relying on you. That’s likely driving you (partially) to work as you do. Flip it on its head and let it sink in that every resource you have inside your company has limits. The bank accounts. The inventory. The employees. There are limits to everything. And not every resource is renewable. Most have to be replenished.

What you think you’re so special? That you don’t need to be replenished?

Stop acting like a fool. Start taking care of yourself. Physically, mentally and emotionally.  Do it for YOURSELF first.

Two, be intentional to add fuel to your tank.

We understand this about everything — except ourselves. The other day I had a thermostat die. About every 6 months or so I have to replace three AAA batteries. They don’t last forever. I took the old ones out, popped in three news ones and presto, it came back to life.

But you don’t think your life works like that? You’re wrong. Your life works exactly like that.

When professional athletes finally throw in the towel and retire, do they reach some pivotal moment that they never saw coming? Maybe. If the injury was severe enough. But I suspect many more of them endure nicks and cuts and loss of joy over time. The grind takes a slow, steady toll. The constant rehab work. The constant pain. It weighs heavier and heavier until they reach a point where they conclude, “No more!”

Is that what you want to happen to you? Do you want to ignore all the little nagging stressors until they break you? How stupid, especially when you have opportunities to prevent that from happening. Time you could spend taking better care of yourself so you can fuel up to continue the quest.

Three, stop thinking short-term. Stop being pessimistic. 

Gotta do it this. Gotta do it now. Gotta get it done today.

The urgency of our enterprise is real. But not everything is urgent. Or important. We tend to make mountains out of molehills, suspecting that everything is important.

If everything is important then nothing is important.

You and I both know not everything that we think is important or urgent is. We’re fully capable of overblowing things.

We need to to stop the madness of being pessimistic that every bad thing that might happen, will. It won’t. It’s not even likely. Or probable. In fact, quite often it’s not hardly possible. But we imagine the sky is going to fall if we’re not on top of it.

Here’s the truth of it…you’re not that important.

That’s the real rub. We think everything is a NOW thing. We think the worst-case scenario will become reality. And we think if WE don’t do it, it won’t get done. That’s all short-term, pessimistic thinking. And those are poor habits for business building.

Contrast those with longer-term thinking and optimism. There’s no comparison. We know – with certainty – that thinking longer-term and being positive are far better for our company. Don’t get sucked into going against the forces that will help your company grow great.

Four, life is long. But it’s also short. Make the most of it.

Charles Francis Adams, grandson of John Adams and son of John Quincy Adams, served as a Massachusetts state senator, a US Congressman and ambassador to Great Britain under Abraham Lincoln. Adams was also quite conscientious about keeping a daily journal and encouraged his children to do the same.

Henry Brooks Adams, fourth of seven children, followed his advice and began journaling at a young age. A particular entry written when Brooks was eight has captured attention. Following a day spent with his father, he wrote

Went fishing with my father today, the most glorious day of my life.

The day was so glorious, in fact, that Brooks continued to talk and write about that particular day for the next thirty years. It was then that Brooks thought to compare journal entries with his father. For that day’s entry, his dad Charles had written:

Went fishing with my son, a day wasted.

It’s been speculated that perhaps Charles was upset that they caught no fish that day. But no matter, dad seemed to have forgotten that the act is often more important than the outcome.

What journal notations might others be making about you and the impact you’re having in their life? Isn’t that more important than all the silly little things you constantly obsess about in your business?

Make time for the things that matter. You’ll have time for the rest. And if you don’t, you don’t. Because life is long and goes by in a blur.

Take care of yourself. Take care of your family. Take care of your friends. There’s time to take care of business.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Have a safe, happy holiday weekend.

Randy

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One of the more memorable books in my library was published in the summer of 1987. It was written by the Jan Carlzon, CEO of SAS Group, owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines Ireland. I had been reading of him in the business press so I was anxious to read the book when he was first translated into English. The title? Moments of Truth.

Mr. Carlzon took over a company losing many millions of dollars each year. Within the first year of his leadership the company was first among European carriers in on-time punctuality. His days in the hospitality industry served him well and I greatly admired his work. I was 30 years-old. He was joining the ranks of others who mentored me through books and stories of his leadership.

The moments of truth Mr. Carlzon talked of were the moments when his airlines had contact with customers — passengers. Every moment was important. Critical to success. He understood that and trained for it.

My 15 years or so of retail experience (at the time I read the book) connected immediately with Mr. Carlzon’s philosophy and strategy. Touchpoints or moments of truth was critical in my industry. I realized it was crucial for any business in any industry.

The book gave language to my philosophy that I had been preaching for a number of years in my own work. Touchpoints needed to be all be magical if possible. Otherwise, they had to be consistently excellent. Predictable and replicated at the highest levels.

It’s hard work, but I learned that happy employees and customer-friendly processes helped. I also learned that things slip when you neglect them. Or when you ease up the focus on them. Entropy occurs. It’s natural. And it impacts everything including the service we render to prospects and customers.

Maintaining the strongest connection possible on the touchpoints of your business is crucial for your success. It’s too easy to think we’ve got them all figured out and assume things are working as they should. Don’t get complacent with it.

Step 1 – Catalog every single touchpoint inside your company.

Make note of every possible way people can interact with your company. Every email, phone, social media or live interaction should be accounted for. This should answer the question, “How can people contact us?” as well as, “How can we contact them?”

Step 2 – What systems are in place to ensure your company is responding promptly and appropriately?

This should be documented and not left to chance. For now, make sure you have what is currently happening — or what is currently supposed to be happening.

Step 3 – Randomly test each touchpoint and measure the results.

Commission help from people to test your people and the systems currently in place. Have people call, email or send social media messages. See how well your people and your systems are currently performing. Do not use people inside your business. Do not alert people that you’re doing this. Tell no one. Just do it.

Gather the information on each touchpoint. Just here you’ll be tempted to jump in the big middle of people when you spot a failure. Resist knee-jerk reactions. In order to figure out the current status you need to finish the exercise of going through every single touchpoint multiple times. You don’t want to let one incident fool you into thinking every incident happens the same way. Test each touchpoint as many times as you practically can. More is better. You’ll see a pattern develop. It may be great. It may be poor. Don’t disrupt things…yet. You must have a sense of reality first.

Step 4 – Time to huddle with your inner circle and make sure everybody is involved to improve the touchpoints.

Present your findings. Curb your emotions if the results were poor. This isn’t the time to vent. Look in the mirror. Things are this way because you stopped paying attention so get angry with yourself first. Better yet, get busy fixing things.

Calmly present the findings to the team. Insist that nobody leave the meeting and go browbeat the employees involved. Make sure everybody in the room understands the objective is to first, implement improved systems (which will include training people) and second, to instill a culture where superior touchpoint experiences can be delivered 100% of the time. And when that expectation isn’t met, you want to make sure there’s a safety net of some sort in place to recover the person and make amends for any bad experiences (and it’ll happen).

Step 5 – Systematically start improving the processes. Think about creating some small teams of people dedicated to improving every touchpoint.

No touchpoints happen in a vacuum. It’s critical that each touchpoint be considered individually and within the context of the entire company. So if you appoint a 3-person team to tackle the social media touchpoints, make sure they don’t silo themselves away from the other touchpoints.

It’s helpful if you have all the touchpoint teams (should you go this route) come together to compare notes and exchange ideas. This is also a great way to foster greater collaboration and cooperation inside your company.

Step 6 – Bring everybody involved together to review the suggested recommendations. Have each team present their suggestions to the entire group.

Debate them. Discuss them. Decide “what’s next?”

Figure out what actions will be taken. Everything must be documented. Including whatever training may be needed.

Step 7 – Execute the changes.

Do whatever it takes to make the changes simultaneously. I would not recommend you fix phone calls without addressing the other touchpoints. Wrestle the entire thing to the ground in one fell swoop. Find a way.

Step 8 – Test the changes and adjust accordingly.

Every process requires tweaks. Battle plans are great when you’re in the tent figuring out what to do. Once the bullets start flying, those plans often need to be adjusted. Do it. Don’t be fearful to adjust things based on how they work in the real world.

Step 9 – Nail it down once you figure out what works best.

Now it’s time to establish the non-negotiable standards for your touchpoints. This is how you want it done every single time. Standardize the processes and make sure everybody knows what’s expected. Reiterate that these will be the standards for which you’ll hold everybody accountable.

Preach the message that the goal is an excellent customer experience for every touchpoint. This isn’t about making it easy for your company necessarily, but it’s more about making it as frictionless as possible for the person contacting your company.

Step 10 – Randomly test it and constantly discuss it. Refine it as necessary.

Don’t ever trust it to just happen again. Stay on top of it. Pay attention to it and you’ll achieve excellence. Take your eye off of it and it’ll slip.

Touchpoints are an area where you can’t afford to slip. You can’t afford to be mediocre. You must be outstanding! It’s a primary way to strengthen your customer base, improve your brand and create greater loyalty.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Randy

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If you were King Arthur you’d have knights to gather at the roundtable. But you’re not a king. Much less King Arthur.

But you spend nights around the table. Likely fretting about decisions. Trying to figure out what to do. Searching for the best answers to your perplexing questions.

Leadership is hard. It taxes the mind, the body, and the spirit.  All good leaders pay a price, but most do so happily. I like to think most also do it with compassion and grace (although I know it’s likely rarer than I wish it were).

Early morning starts. Late-night stops. Sleepless nights. These are common to business owners and leaders.

You spend nights around a table. Maybe a kitchen table in your home. Maybe your desk at work. Maybe a desk at home. Maybe a conference table at the office.

Today I don’t want you to focus on lamenting the decisions you face. Instead, I want you to focus on the resources at your disposal. Think of the assets that should be present at the table with you.

Leadership is lonely, but mostly it’s unnecessarily so. Yes, the buck has to stop somewhere. Tag you’re it. But that doesn’t mean you go it alone. It means you alone bear the responsibility of the decision. And it means you ought to be willing, even anxious to own whatever outcomes are produced…especially failures. Best to give credit to others when things go well. Necessary to take the blame when they don’t.

Meanwhile, the table represents the process of decision-making. Nights represent the exhaustive time spent wrestling with the process.

I’ve only one message in today’s show – do not go it alone. And there are compelling reasons for it. Chief among them is, you’re just not that good. Nobody is.

Accept the limitations of any one person, including you.

Every CEO and business owner bears one major responsibility – to make decisions about the deployment of resources. We decide where investments in people, capital and other resources will be made for the forward progress of the organization. That burden alone is enough to create insomnia for a lifetime. But it’s a burden that nobody should feel obligated to accept alone.

Businesses aren’t democracies, but even monarchies have trusted advisors, just as King Arthur had his knights who gathered with him around their table.

It begins with you knowing yourself and your role well. Self-awareness is paramount. History has shown us countless foolish leaders who prized their thoughts, opinions, insights, and experiences above all others. Easily seen in the lives of others. Much more difficult to see in our own lives.

Look deeply in the mirror. Value your opinions, insights, experience, and knowledge, but not at the expense of thinking your business success hinges solely on it. It’s a foolish strategy even for solopreneurs. Recognize your brilliance, but recognize even more fully your limitations.

Multiple viewpoints provide improved perspective.

When you sit alone struggling to find just the right answer you limit yourself to your perspective. Your biases and opinions alone determine the answers you’ll consider. Rare is the person who can embrace thoughts not his own while sitting alone. I’m not even sure it’s possible. Not in a practical sense.

When we’re wrestling with an important decision there’s no danger in having differing viewpoints, opinions, and insights. Don’t be threatened by opposing viewpoints. Instead, relish them. Search them out. Surround yourself with people brave enough to express them freely.

Vigorous debate and passionate viewpoints will result in decisions much more likely to serve the organization. And it will result in an elevated performance-based culture, too.

Better decisions are made with more involvement.

It’s about improved decisions. If your focus is on anything else, then you’re pursuing vanity – not greater business success. As you deploy resources your wisdom will be demonstrated in putting as much power behind improved decisions as you possibly can.

All for one. And one for all.

It’s the traditional motto of Switzerland, but you and I know it from the story of The Three Musketeers. It’s a great high-performing culture battle cry for your company, too.

There’s fun in working together. If you’re going to grow great as a leader you should show your team the way. When the knights saw the demeanor and behavior of King Arthur they were determined more than ever to fight for him and any cause he was behind. Your team will embrace the fight with higher zeal when you make key members part of the process.

Figuring it out should be a team effort with you leading the way. Relying on those whose insights, opinions, knowledge, and experience can contribute to help make the nights around the table profitable.

You’ll likely spend considerable time around a table. More likely than not you’ll have some late nights sitting around it. There’s no point sitting there alone. Gather others around the table with you. Employ them to join in the fight and prepare for greater success and lots more fun.

Be well. Do good. Grow great.

Randy

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was first published in 1793. In the 1916 edition editor, Frank Woodworth Pine wrote this in the introduction…

Franklin is a good type of our American manhood. Although not the wealthiest or the most powerful, he is undoubtedly, in the versatility of his genius and achievements, the greatest of our self-made men. The simple yet graphic story in the Autobiography of his steady rise from humble boyhood in a tallow-chandler shop, by industry, economy, and perseverance in self-improvement, to eminence, is the most remarkable of all the remarkable histories of our self-made men. It is in itself a wonderful illustration of the results possible to be attained in a land of unequaled opportunity by following Franklin’s maxims.

When Franklin was a small printer in Philadelphia and deeply in debt he developed an idea. You may think Franklin considered himself a big thinker, a potentially major figure in the world. But that’s not true. He was a simple man who thought of himself as ordinary. He didn’t feel he lacked the essential ingredients for success though. Franklin felt that he needed to find a method that would work. He was creative and practical so he devised a method he could use.

He focused on 13 topics that he thought were important for his success. Franklin decided to give each subject a full week’s worth of attention. His goal was to work through the 13 topics in 13 weeks. (My 7×7 Fast Start is a rip off of Franklin’s idea to tackle a single thing over the course of a week.)

Franklin figured he could go through the list in 13 weeks, then start over again. With that sort of discipline, he figured he could work his way through the list of 13 subjects four times a year.

Benjamin Franklin was 79 years old and wrote more on this idea than any other – and the man had many great ideas. He attributed his success to the discipline he exercised pursuing these 13 things. He wrote, “I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit.”

Well, I’m not a descendant of Franklin and neither are you – it’s not likely. But we can still benefit greatly. Here’s what Franklin wrote about these 13 subjects…and in this order:

1. Temperance – eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation
2. Silence – speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation
3. Order – let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time
4. Resolution – resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve
5. Frugality – make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e. waste nothing
6. Industry – lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions
7. Sincerity – use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and if you speak, speak accordingly
8. Justice – wrong none by doing injuries or omitting benefits that are your duty
9. Moderation – avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve
10. Cleanliness – tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes or habitation
11. Tranquility – be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable
12. Chastity – rarely use venery (sexual indulgences) but for health and offspring, never to dullness, weakness or injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation
13. Humility – Imitate Jesus and Socrates

What would your list of 13 be?

If you wanted to come up with 13 subjects that would propel you forward and help you grow great, what would that list look like? What order would they be in?

Here’s your homework for the weekend. Come up with your list of 13 subjects that you’re willing to commit to. Make up your mind to give each subject one full week of focus. You’ll be able to devote a full week to each subject four times a year. That’s a considerable amount of time, effort and energy.

Franklin didn’t likely have the mind insights that neuroscience has discovered long after he died, but he appeared to have an intuition or innate knowledge of what might work for him. Turns out, it can work for anybody.

By concentrating on such things for a period of time we rewire our thinking. Things once difficult become more natural. Easier to think, and therefore, easier to execute. Franklin had figured out how to pursue mastery of things he felt were important to his success. That’s our objective in this podcast. It’s about your leadership.

That doesn’t restrict it to your business leadership. It involves helping you become a better person. It involves helping you grow in every area of your life.

Over at my hobby podcast – Leaning Toward Wisdom – I did an episode a month ago or so where I talked about the differences between wishing, dreaming and hoping. Here’s what I said:

Dreams have desire that may or may not spark action.

Wishes have desire incapable of doing anything.

Hopes have desire with intentions. Something is being done to make it so.

Franklin’s list of 13 things gave him intentions. He began doing something to make these things become realities. That’s the power of his list. And it’ll be the power of your list, too – assuming you’re brave enough to create a list and put in the work.

We all have multiple choices in this test of life.

We can do nothing. This likely the well-worn path followed by millions or billions of people. People consume information, learn something, but never do anything with it.

We can talk a big game, saying we’ll do something. Another very well-worn path followed by herds of people. Maybe their intentions are good and honest. Maybe they’re fooling themselves and others. But no matter, they’re no better than that first group because they don’t do anything.

We can make up our minds that we’re going to shift from dreaming and wishing (behaviors that take no action) to hoping (behaviors that take action intended to make the hope a reality).

So what’s it going to be? What are you going to do?

Let me know. You know how to reach me.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Randy

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“In a minute,” maybe a teenager’s favorite phrase when asked to do something by their parents. As parents, we understand that if we don’t continue to insist, the proverbial minute will never arrive. Our kids will never get around to taking out the trash, or whatever other chores we’re asking them to do.

Yet is a different sentiment. It’s not the equivalent of “in a minute.”

“In a minute” is about procrastination.

“Yet” is about the process of achievement.

Yet is powerful. It denotes that achievement and accomplishment just haven’t happened YET. But it also expresses confidence that it will come to pass. We simply have to continue pressing toward the goal.

It can also be a crutch when it’s merely an excuse for failure.

Lately, I’ve been thinking quite a lot about this word because I hear it often used in both contexts. As an excuse and as a statement that a person is still working hard toward a target.

The optimistic part of me – the bigger part of me – focuses on the progress made. Or the progress attempting to be made. I’m happy to give folks the benefit of the doubt that when they use the word – YET – they’re putting forth solid effort to reach whatever goal they’ve set.

“Have you reached your sales goals this week?”

“Not yet.”

The power of yet is measured in whatever effort is being put forth to reach the goal. That’s the power of yet. It’s the declaration that in time we’ll reach it.

Only the pompous are able to judge the timing of success and achievement. It happens when it happens, and mostly only after great effort.

The real power of YET is in what follows. A sentiment sometimes expressed. Sometimes just implied.

“…but I will.”

Affirming our commitment. Hearing ourselves reinforce our determination.

Important matters of the mind.

As a business leader, you have a responsibility to your team to make sure that every single member embraces the optimistic idea of YET while refusing to embrace it as an excuse for failure.

How?

Step 1: Review what actions have been taken and measure the results.

Keep in mind that wishes don’t have actions, but hopes do. If members of your team are hoping to achieve something specific, then it necessarily means they’re doing something to move toward that achievement. What things are they doing? How are those things working out?

Step 2: Are they taking enough of the right actions? Help them figure that out.

Be a profitable sounding board so your team members can individually and collectively figure out if they’re taking the appropriate actions. And then figure out if they’re doing enough of them. Sometimes we take action, but we fail to do it enough. A salesperson may make sales calls consistently, but failure results because she’s not making enough calls every single day.

Step 3: Figure out what’s working and what isn’t.

Not all actions are created equally. You owe it to your team to help them figure out what actions work best. Don’t issue commands, but instead help them arrive at the conclusions that will drive higher chances of success.

Step 4: Ask them what commitment they’d like to make in order to adjust to a more effective course of action. 

“What would you like to do to accelerate toward the goal?”

This is where the team member must commit to their own plan. Steps 1, 2 and 3 likely produce multiple answers and give the person a variety of choices they could take. Help them reason through the strengths and weaknesses of each option. Let them decide the option they think will help best reach the goal.

This step answers the question, “Now what will I do?” These should be specific action items the person is willing to undertake.

Step 5: Agree on a timeframe. 

When would they like to reach the next milestone toward the goal? Again, let them commit to a specific time-frame. These actions should be intentionally fairly short-term toward a longer-term objective. Think days or weeks here, not months.

Review the commitment made by the team member. “Beginning tomorrow you’re going to make a minimum of 20 calls and be at 90% of your monthly sales goal by the 22nd of the month.”

Again, specifics matter.

Step 6: Be their accountability partner.

Simple easy tactics are required. This isn’t a police action, but it’s a service your team members deserve. Reiterate that you have just one objective – to help them achieve their goal.

“At the end of every day text me the number of calls you made along with the number of actual sales conversations you had as a result. Text it with the number being the calls and the second number the actual phone presentations made.”

Step 7: Make real-time adjustments together.

Agree together that if adjustments are necessary, then they’ll make those adjustments. For instance, if 20 daily calls aren’t resulting in increases that will likely reach the goal…then agree to increase them to 25 daily calls.

Remember, the goal is to help them hit their target. You’re making a full commitment to them to help them do what must be done so they can achieve success. Their failure will be your failure.

But together you’re both going to commit to the power of YET. It’s not over until it’s over. So until then, the work continues with the die-hard belief that success just hasn’t happened…YET. But it will.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Randy