Results: Outstanding Results come from Outstanding Leaders – Part 1
***From Chapter 7 of 10 Keys to Great Leadership Book*****
When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.
Ken Blanchard
Getting things done.
Getting things done right.
Getting things done on time, and on budget.
Having a plan and having a purpose to the plan. Outstanding leaders get massive things done through other people. They know how to delegate and how to create results.
My great buddy, Norman Vincent Peale, put it very simple when he said:
“Big thoughts get big results
(You get what you believe you will get)
I really believe it is a law that you will get no bigger results than your thoughts are big.”
To many times, our thoughts are way too small.
Our wishes might be big, but the thought that we can do it is way too small.
Here are some simple, yet effective ways to get results. See what you think:
1/ Measure
You will never know if you are getting the results you want unless you have some type of measurement.
Those of us in sales understand that simply as a quota – you made it or you didn’t. Or as one of my old bosses used to say, “Low man goes”. The person at bottom of the sales list needs to find a new job.
Too many times, we just don’t measure. Whatever you want someone to accomplish, make sure you both understand and monitor the measurement. You will be amazed at the results.
Create a visible measurement.
I like charts on the wall and today charts are also available in most of your results management systems.
The more you see where you are compared to where you want to be, the greater the chance you will start moving forward.
I can tell you a number of times when I looked at my own charts and say, “You best get moving, Manny.”
Try it out: Find one thing you are trying to accomplish, set up a measurement and start monitoring it. It can be something really simple, but do it.
2/ Expectations
Understand what you expect.
Understand what all those you are responsible for expect.
Understand what all those you report to expect.
What do you expect to happen? I see again. So many times, people say it is not working, I am not getting the results I want. What did you expect? What did those who work for you think you expected. Are they the same? Too many times, the answer is ‘NO’.
Try this: We work a very simple process. Sit down and ask those who work for you, “What do you expect?” Make a list. Dig deep. Get everything they expect on a list. Then do the same thing in reverse, you layout all the things that they expect of you. It is amazing what this does. Then you get them to sign it and you do the same. Also remember to stay committed to it.
6 months later, when the questions and problems could come up, you simply go back to the document and see what it says.
3/ Discipline
There is the word again. Didn’t we just cover that a couple of chapters back? If you don’t have the discipline to stick with the task and help others stick with it, how can you ever expect any results?
Discipline is learned by seeing what those you work for do. If you have great discipline, then your team will know they need to have it as well. It simply works that way.
Try this. Find one thing you are really struggling to get done. Put together 3 things you can do daily to move that forward, and do not end the day until they are done. Simple stuff, but be consistent.
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4/ Consistency
You have to do it all the time, every time.
If you are doing cold calls, then doing them every day works. Doing them when you feel like it doesn’t.
If you are trying to penetrate an account, then you have to work it month after month after month. One try doesn’t do it. If you keep on the task, it will work.
Too many quit just before they get there.
I remember a great story of a man who spent all his money, time and energy going after gold in a mine. He knew it was there, he invested all he had to make it happen. But then, he quit. He sold off the tools and the mine for peanuts. The buyer picked up and kept going where the seller had left off and worked the process. The seller was actually only a few inches from the gold when he quit. The buyer got rich.
Keep going. When it gets toughest, make another call, visit another prospect. Keep on going, it will work.
Try this: What is the one thing you really struggle with every day and don’t just do it? Write it down. Now, focus on that for the next 5 days, nothing will stop you from doing it. You will be amazed.
5/ Plan
You can talk about it all day long. You can think about it all the time. Yet you still might never achieve it. Without a plan of what you are going to do, you are never going to make it happen. Yes, planning takes time. But without it, you are just wasting your time.
I am talking about a written plan. Not something in your head, but an actual plan with measurements written down. You will be amazed.
Try it: Work with your team on planning for one thing you all have been meaning to get done, but just haven’t gotten there. Write it down. Write the steps. Assign and delegate, then measure the results. This is how you start putting it all together.