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To Get Ahead – Get Started

26/5/2013

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I regularly talk to business owners about their plans to grow & improve
their businesses. The majority are actively seeking ways to make things better.  No one I’ve met honestly believes that sitting around hoping for the best is the secret to achieving better results. But faced with these facts, I’m surprised to observe how little actually gets done—how rare it is to see definitive action in pursuit of specific goals. What is it that holds us back from the DOING? I’ve discovered a few common answers to this question: 

"I don’t know what to do / how to get started."
If this is the case (and no one likes to admit it), start by asking yourself where to find the information you need. Who can you ask? Then get started on finding a solution. Stop sitting there waiting for answers to fall on your head like Newton’s apple. 

Everything but DOING.
Talking isn't action. Planning isn't doing. Knowing what to do is only useful if you apply that knowledge.  Making decisions isn't the same as getting something done. Ideas are great, but
it’s only when ideas get implemented that anything really changes.  

Lack of focus.
You’ve got 1000 answers; one’s got to be right. Now you just need to try each one—just not all at once. Trying to do 1000 things at the same time means none of them will get done well. In fact, evidence proves that attempting to focus on any more than 2-3 important goals at once actually decreases your chances of executing any of them. 
 
So what’s the answer to effectively taking the actions that lead to the
results you’re after? If you want the future to be better than the present, you
have to start working on it immediately. Remember: What you’re chasing is better
than, not optimal. Your mission is to do something today that's better than what
you did yesterday. Then do something tomorrow that's better than what you did
today. The real secret is that doing something requires…doing something!

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Effective Business Benchmarking

19/5/2013

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The main focus of my work with clients is understanding and improving their overall business capability.  I question whether key stakeholders understand and execute key business initiatives and if everyone knows the business’ most important goals.  Is strategy driven by one person or the team?

When leaders consider business capability questions, they often consider benchmarking, where they compare their business to similar businesses across key metrics.  It is more valuable, however, to consider how the business is performing in relation to the director’s unique vision.

Just last season, American basketball player LeBron James became the first man since Michael Jordan (pictured) to win the NBA’s MVP Award for the regular season, go on to be the MVP of the NBA Finals series in a winning team (the Miami Heat) and win an Olympic gold medal for Team USA - all in the same year. 

If you asked LeBron to rate his game, comparing himself to every other player, he would consider himself superior in most categories.  But how useful would this analysis be to helping him improve his game? Not very.

He would be better completing his analysis relative to himself.  In other words, compared to the level of achievement he wants to attain, how is he doing?  If he assessed himself against himself, he would identify which areas of his game needed development.

This is not to say that benchmarking isn’t a useful exercise, but when you benchmark your business against what you want it to be, it empowers you to make greater improvements.  Comparing yourself - favourably or otherwise - with your competitors or other businesses typically doesn’t help you improve the capability of your organisation.  Simply aiming to be better than your competition at “the same” is not a way to differentiate your business for competitive advantage.  And even if you achieve the goal of being "better" than your competitors, that doesn't guarantee that you are becoming the best that you can be, reaching your maximum potential.  Benchmarking can be limiting in more ways than it can be helpful.  And the first question you should ask yourself when benchmarking your business is "What should I be comparing it to?"

If you’re currently struggling to implement change (business or personal), it would be wise to take another tip from LeBron James.  Remember that he - and other successful athletes – are objectively assessed.  A coach or mentor can identify, prioritise, and execute sustainable strategies based on the goals most important to you.

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You’re NOT That Busy

8/5/2013

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Business owners often lament, "I don’t have time!" Realistically, this is
rarely true. When someone says they don’t have time, it’s usually more accurate to say "It’s not a priority." To make the most of the time we all have, start by being honest with yourself about what you really want from your business, why you want it and what you’re willing to commit to in order to achieve it. All business owners are busy. But being busy isn’t the same as efficiently, effectively focusing on what’s most critical to success. The most common form of procrastination is "work" - doing all those things that aren’t necessary but that are great ways of avoiding the real work of achieving your most important goals. 

I encourage all business owners to master three time management habits to help them stop thinking in terms of "having the time" and start thinking in terms of "making time" for what’s most important. 

Habit #1: Set 2-3 key priorities and stick to them.
What would you do if you only had the time to work on 2 or 3 tasks each week? These actions should be aligned with achieving your most important goals. Deciding what you won’t do is every bit as important as what you will do. If you have more than 3 priorities, you don’t have priorities, you have a laundry list. 

Habit #2: Set aside time for focused effort on these priorities.
Schedule it. In advance. Consistently. Block out time every week to work on what is most important. No excuses and no interruptions from the "urgent" things that inevitably pop up. 

Habit #3: Set up systems.
Build processes that can eliminate, automate or delegate your less important tasks. Get rid of "busy work" through systemisation and spend less time on whatever is keeping you from your priorities. 

If you master these habits, you’ll eliminate "I don’t have time" as an excuse and will start creating the time to get more done more efficiently. Stop procrastinating! Make the time to manage your time more effectively!

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    Author

    Alan Blair has over 15 years experience in business performance consulting. He delights in making his clients more money, finding them more time to enjoy life & helping everyone reach their maximum potential.

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