STRATEGIC THINKING . . . THE WAY TO THE TOP!!!

During my career, I had the opportunity to work under two different Harvard MBA’s, (coincidentally both were females).  Both of these Harvard MBA’s intellect were far superior to almost everyone I ever known, yet I still wonder if they rose to the pinnacle of their career due to their intelligence, their education, or their ability to think strategically far and above the ‘rest’ of us.

However, during my tenure under these Harvard MBA’s, I felt almost invisible, and became little more than a statistic.  I also found that from this experience and as I went my about my career, as the proposals ended up in a pile, my only acknowledgement was an occasional raise- usually once per year. More often than not, I sensed that my individuality and input became buried.

Jack Welch, former Chairman of GE, called this feeling of anonymity “being in the pile,” and he recommended thinking as the means of escape. Most people go with the ‘herd’ doing what’s asked of them but not much more. In Welch’s estimation, the key to elevating your business is to go above and beyond expectations whenever someone asks you question or you have a customer or employee complaint.

As Jack Welch wrote, “If you understand that the question is only the beginning, you will get out of the pile fast, because 99.9 percent of all employees are in the pile because they don't think. If you understand this principle, you will always be given more critical questions to answer. And in time, you will be the one giving out the questions to others!”

I would like to offer five ways to begin thinking your way to the top.

Where to think . . .

Today’s work environment is incredibly fast-paced and fraught with demands and huge workloads. Unless you’re deliberately get away from the noise of day-to-day operations, you will never break free. The first step to getting out of the pile is giving yourself permission to disconnect. You have to get away from all the daily challenges by retreating to a space free of any and all interruptions. Initially, you might think that scheduling this time feels incredibly unproductive. However, this is the only way and the beginning to gaining perspective to working smarter and more strategically.

Shape your thoughts . . .

In the beginning most ideas lack clarity. Our initial ideas are unclear due to the clutter in our mind. As a leader, challenge yourself to translate your gut feelings into distinct ideas and plans, which you can document and articulate to your team. Next, strategic ideas never come fully formed. As a leader, your job is to test your ideas by asking critical questions. Does the idea proceed from reasonable assumptions? Does the idea align with the mission, core values and strategic vision of the organization? Does the idea make sense given the structure and strengths/weaknesses of the organization? Lastly, thoughts spring into existence with huge possibilities. However, they must undergo tests. For instance, how would the idea actually take shape in your organization? What would it cost to pursue? How long would it take to implement? What significant changes (positive and negative) would impact the business?

Stretch your thoughts . . .

Throughout my career, some of the best ideas have come from others. Many times my ideas start out small until we got ahold of them and found ways to stretch them to their maximum potential. Isolated leaders never obtain as much influence as those who surround themselves with an inner circle of key advisors.

Land your thoughts . . .

Before an idea can take shape, it must take on a concrete existence. The number one question to ask when landing or implementing an idea is: Who will own it? Who will champion the idea and push it forward? A leader must prepare the way for the idea to touch down safely. This means winning the support of your team and communicating clearly with those most likely to be impacted by the idea’s implementation.

Fly your thoughts . . .

If you wanted to fly an airplane, you would begin by taking lessons from an instructor.  To fly an idea, you first need to learn from an instructor or a practice flight. Testing your idea on a small scale will expose weaknesses before a major launch. Sometimes the flaws are fixable, and the idea can be reworked. On rare occasions, you may even have an idea that tests out brilliantly on the first attempt. However, other ideas are not feasible in real life and ought to be scrapped. A practice flight confirms that an idea can actually withstand the challenges of real-world application.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN YOUR COMPANY

Wharton management professor Ethan Mollick has a message for knowledge-based companies: Pay closer attention to your middle managers. They may have a greater impact on company performance than almost any other part of the organization.

In other words, says Mollick, "the often overlooked and sometimes-maligned middle managers matter. They are not interchangeable parts in an organization." His view upends the long-held belief that performance differences between firms are due mainly to organizational factors – such as business strategy, management systems and HR practices -- rather than to differences among employees.

The importance of individual skills and characteristics can be especially significant when measuring firm performance in industries and fields that value innovation, like computer games, software, consulting, biotech and marketing, according to Mollick, who recently completed a paper on this topic titled, "People and Process: Suits and Innovators: Individuals and Firm Performance." It is in these knowledge-intensive industries where variation in the abilities of middle managers – the "suits" he refers to in his paper -- has a "particularly large impact on firm performance, much larger than that of individuals who are assigned innovative roles," he says.

The influence these suits exert, he suggests, stems from their key role in project management, including such tasks as resource allocation and supervision of deadlines – responsibilities often perceived as the bureaucratic, more routine and less glamorous side of the business. Middle managers also can play a key role in fostering innovative and creative environments.

A Look at the Gaming Industry

One challenge Mollick faced in his research was a lack of studies that measured the relative contribution of middle managers vs. innovators. He addressed that gap by analyzing the computer game industry, which not only is typical of many knowledge-driven industries, but also "represents a case where the tension between the firm and the individual should be at its most visible." The industry, he notes, is populated by companies that are relatively established, have clear product strategies and yet depend to a great extent on the "innovative output of key individuals." In addition, he writes in his paper, "success in the game industry relies not just on managers in charge of innovation, but also on project managers capable of organizing dozens of programmers and coordinating budgets that often reach into the tens of millions of dollars."

He does not include top managers in his analysis although his paper cites an earlier study showing that the impact of CEOs, CFOs and other top-level executives on large firms is limited. Indeed, these top positions explain less than 5% of the variation in firm performance among Fortune 800 companies – a finding that Mollick says is in line with other research in this area. In large, established organizations, "the top managers, at least, account for relatively little of why some companies perform better than others." 

Mollick acknowledges that top management plays a significant role in setting the overall direction of the company. "But they don't have a big part in deciding which individual projects are selected and how they are run. At least for the computer game industry – and no doubt for a lot of knowledge-based industries – it is all about the middle managers."

His research differentiates knowledge-based companies from traditional industries where "economies of scale are critical, such as manufacturing, and where there seems to be little need to take individuals into account to explain performance." Toyota is an example. "With a six-layered bureaucracy, cross-trained workers and clearly delineated departments, Toyota built a manufacturing powerhouse that integrates workers in a complex mechanism to produce cars efficiently," Mollick writes. "Individual workers are ultimately replaceable and interchangeable with others who have received the same extensive training." The process "does not rely on any individual worker's skills but rather firm-level processes to hire and train the appropriate individuals for the appropriate roles."

Emerging industries, however, rely more on knowledge and innovation than on process and assembly lines. Given that model, what can be said about the effect of individual middle managers on firm performance? A number of studies suggest that "their success is heavily dependent on the structure of the organizations … and their impact on performance is determined by firm structure and culture, rather than individual differences."  Mollick's analysis of the game industry comes up with a different conclusion.

Good Skills Are Portable

In describing the focus of his research, Mollick notes that within the game industry, each game has a team of creators -- including designers, programmers and artists -- who work for firms of varying sizes. "Because accurate credits at both the individual and firm level are available for many games developed within the industry, it is possible to trace precisely both the individuals and firms responsible for innovation and entrepreneurship within the industry," Mollick writes.

The game industry can be broken down into producers – similar to project managers in the software industry – and designers. A producer (middle manager) has to ensure that the project meets its deadline, gets the right resources and conforms to industry standards. He or she must communicate effectively with the rest of the company and with outside vendors such as promoters and public relations firms, among other responsibilities. The designer (innovator), by contrast, comes up with ideas and helps the development team turn the idea into a game, paying attention to story lines and characters, but also to logic, sequence and interaction. The producers fill the managerial roles, and the designers fill the innovative roles, according to Mollick, who focused his research on PC games as opposed to console games like those that run on the Nintendo, Xbox or Sony systems.

Using a Multiple Membership Cross-Classified Multilevel Model (MMCC) analysis of 854 games across multiple companies, he measured, over 12 years, "how performance changes as you combine different people in different companies in different ways." He uses the revenue of each company, controlling for costs, to measure firm performance.

The games he analyzed accounted for about $4 billion of revenue and included 537 individual producers, 739 individual designers and 395 companies. With the MMCC model, he was able to determine which project success was due to individual designers as opposed to producers or the firms.

Mollick found that it was middle managers, rather than innovators or company strategy, who best explained the differences in firm performance. Managers accounted for 22.3% of the variation in revenue among projects, as opposed to just over 7% explained by innovators and 21.3% explained by the organization itself – including firm strategy, leadership and practices. "Far from being interchangeable," Mollick writes, "individuals uniquely contribute to the success or failure of a firm…. Additionally, even in a young industry that rewards creative and innovative products, innovative roles explain far less variation in firm performance than do managers."

Or, as Mollick later writes: "High-performing innovators alone are not enough to generate performance variation; rather, it is the role of individual managers to integrate and coordinate the innovative work of others." So while innovators may come up with new games and new concepts, managers play the more crucial role of deciding which ideas are actually given resources. It is this "selection ability" that Mollick measures.

The best managers are able to work closely with the innovators to turn their ideas into realistic project plans, he adds, and they are effective at motivating the team and facilitating "collective creativity."

In order to see if these skills were portable, Mollick re-examined the data, looking only at individuals who moved between companies. He found that middle managers who switched employers had an even larger impact on performance than those who remained within organizations. "This is not about a person being a good fit in just one specific organization. Their skills are useful anywhere." It's more evidence that managers are not "cogs in a machine. There is something innate in them that makes them good at what they do."

Beyond Dilbert

"It's amazing that the effect of these middle managers on a project is not only larger than the creative people, but larger than the rest of the organization," Mollick says. "We tend to think of companies as all about systems and not enough about people." He suggests that companies pay more attention to filling middle levels of management, figuring out who the best ones are and rewarding them appropriately.

Middle managers, he adds, "have a tough job." They are managing a finite set of resources, they don't have control over everyone's actions, they can frustrate people around them who are not interested in changing direction when necessary, and they must go in a direction – even if it's an unpopular one -- that ensures the project's success. Finally, the project has to fit in with the goals of the company. "It's always easy to think about the worst manager you have had, the ones you see in the Dilbert cartoons," Mollick says. "But it's important to recognize the vital role these middle managers play in making sure that information flows and that creativity happens."

LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET THE HECK OUT OF THE WAY . . .

Define leadership. Now redefine it in terms of YOU.

What is interesting about recent articles and books written  about leadership, seemingly all these have been written by people who are no longer leaders. Yet, these authors routinely write as if they are ‘Monday Quarterbacking’ for today’s leaders under fire to adopt their "former leader" direction. 

A recent article by one of these ’former leaders’ included  key points, one of these point was that "clarity is the antidote of anxiety"; therefore "clarity" is the main concern of the effective leader. What???

If you're a leader, and clarity is your main concern, nothing important must be going on in your business.

During our Mentoring Sessions, we discover that leadership is multifaceted. There is no "one" concern more powerful than the other, therefore they are all important. So, what is more important here:  lead by example, get the ‘buy- in’ of the team, achievement of the strategic plan, management of the sale process, watching the bottom line, continual excellence of performance, management of the KPI’s,  absolute ‘open door’ communication, or fulfillment of the employees in the company?  All of these are far more important than "clarity."

"Clarity is the antidote of anxiety."  If a leader has anxiety, the first step would be to discover what is causing it, and then take the necessary action to eliminate or change it. Being "clear" is another phrase coined by another ’former leader’ to sell books.  Furthermore, it is a meaningless as "added value" or "on purpose" or "focus." Just empty leadership-created words and phrases.

If you are the leader, boss, or manager, you need to sharpen the real-world skills you need to be a true leader.  These skills are the leadership qualities needed to succeed: the action items, principles, and skills to employ so leadership works. So it works for you, your people, your customers, your vendors, and your company-in that order.

But there are degrees of leadership effectiveness. Your ability to master these leadership skills are in direct proportion to your ability to lead. If you are looking for ‘clarity’, look no further than these skills:

• Develop respect from your people and to respect you. If the leaders are not respected they are eventually overthrown-or fired. If a non-respected leader cannot be fired, people will quit.
• Make sure your people and their jobs are a "fit." Remember . . . Right Person, Right Seat, Right Bus.
• Let your people share their goals. Part of the Strategic Plan is the common goal of the people and the leader.  When people set their own goals, they can achieve them, and they ‘own’ them.
• Give your people specific responsibilities and clear direction. Everyone needs to fully understand their responsible. And make sure they see the big picture and how their part fits into it.
• Create an environment in which people love their work and their workplace. Make the workplace fun.
• Make sure all "money matters" are clear. Do not mess with employees' money. And worse, do not reduce pay or commissions to cut costs. Pay fairly, benefit well, and provide security. Otherwise people will leave.
• Make sure paychecks are accurate. People count their money and count on it. Nothing hurts morale more than wrong paychecks.
• Encourage your people. The most effective leaders are coaches. They stand on the sidelines and cheer for their players.
• Praise your people.  When is the last time you praised someone for their hard work? Praise effort publicly. Praise accomplishment. Often.

By your actions and your achievements-be their hero. If you want them to become dedicated players, your people need to see your dedication. If you are the one driving the bus and making big things happen, you will become a hero to those who respect your ethics and accomplishments.

So what is wrong with this statement?  "You don't have to be liked, you just have to be respected." People want to work for people they like AND respect, otherwise they will work for someone else.

Conclusion

So . . . Lead, Follow, or get the Heck out of the way. If you are the leader, and you are not following the above rules, you don't have to worry about getting out of the way, because your best people will run away from you.

82 WAYS TO BECOME A BETTER LEADER

There is a huge difference between being an effective Manager and a Leader.  If you consider yourself a leader, or are interested in becoming one, you must first understand that becoming an effective leader is a process, one that never ends. Here’s a few tips (actually 82 of them) to guide you on your journey to becoming a better Leader.

 

Planning & Strategy

• Understand what the core principles of being a leader are. It’s not about power, but rather about vision, mission, core values, direction and setting the standard for others to follow.
• There are different ways of managing people.  So what is your leadership style?
• As a leader you are constantly studying and getting more information to continually improve.
• As you build your business, know how to maintain it and prevent serious failures in the business and the team.
• Constantly analyze and improve the process and systems.
• Be prepared in the event of a ‘disaster’. Have a plan ready and be ready to recover from it and move on.
• Keep ‘garbage’ out of your trash cans and out of your employees heads.

Team Building

• Know how to identify, recruit, hire and train exceptional employees.
• Having a standardized interviewing process, which means asking the right questions to find the persons core values and work ethic.
• Constantly building trust in your team and your team trusting you.
• Develop and effectively communicate your vision.
• Having your team ‘Own’ the companies goals and vision.
• Interdependence – making sure your employees are sharing responsible principles.
• Mentoring your team by being a strong positive role model.
• Improve yourself by being influenced and studying great leaders.
• Control the culture and core values of your organization and never stray nor sacrifice these.

Communication

• Never sacrifice ethics in the workplace as well as your company’s image in your industry.
• Develop strong public speaking abilities to get the message across to larger groups.
• Keep your employees up-to-date with things they need to know.
• Command your own body language and your team members as well.
• Improve your proactive and effective listening skills.
• Speak clearly and concisely using economies of words.
• Proactively deal with difficult situations and set the standard.

Build Trust & Confidence

• Clearly understand and communicate the definition of Trust.
• Believe in your team, and work hard to find the good in all your team members.
• Be open minded to accepting new people, new concepts and ideas into your life.
• Be credible and real by showing vulnerability.
• Be prepared to face your fears, only then can your empower yourself and others.
• Know and understand your positive characteristics and when to use them.
• Know, understand and work hard to improve your weak characteristic and shortcomings.
• Take a look outside yourself and see how others perceive you.
• Set the standards for confidence and charisma and others will be drawn to you.

Time Management

• Set goals to get you focused on getting important things done first.
• Have an action plan to achieve those goals.
• Stop procrastinating. Remember you can only manage yourself not Time.
• Know when and how to delegate work.
• Get rid of any and all kinds of distractions while working.
• Keep track of your life by writing things down.
• Keep a schedule and stick to it.
• Know your bad habits and how to break them. 

Being Responsible

• Be responsible for all your actions, words and deeds.
• Be responsible and never deviate from your culture, core values, mission statement, name, brand, and company.
• Practice what you preach.

DWYSYWD (Do What You Say You Will Do)

• You must always be aware of what you’re saying and what your not saying. Does the listener get the message you were trying to communicate?
• Create responsible employees, but also be responsible for their actions.
• Assume responsibility, even when it is not your fault.
• Take care of your health. If you don’t care for yourself, why would anyone think you care at all?
• Teach responsibility to others, including your children.
• Surround yourself with the best and brightest team.

Continuous On-Going Learning and Improvement

• Continuously build your leadership skills by reading management and leadership books.
• Keep a leadership blog to document your learning's.
• Attend management seminars.
• Find yourself a Mentor; shared wisdom proves to be priceless.
• Learn from your employees and associates.
• Embrace new technology, it only makes smarter.
• Understand and learn from yourself. And, don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself.

Become a role model

• Maintain a positive mental attitude- when times are tough, you need to be tougher.
• Great leaders exude strength before power.
• Lead by example in all matters.
• Demonstrate small and large acts of chivalry.
• Treat customers and co-workers with respect.
• Always dress for success. 
• Set the standard for the office.
• Always encourage and nurture others; they will encourage and nurture you back.
• Be calm and exhibit patience in all your efforts.
• Know how to properly manage disappointments, both inside and outside of work.
• Value and cherish all life.

Being Real

• Show your employees and customers, that you care about them.
• Know that it’s okay to share your emotions from time to time.
• Allow people to see your shortcomings, for no one is perfect.
• The truth will set you free, so never lie to your employees about what’s going on.
• Don’t be afraid to put your foot down and redirect employees actions and attitudes when necessary.
• Look and learn from your employee’s vantage point.
• Promote job “ownership”.
• For everybody’s sake, make sure you have a life outside of work.
• Have fun at work! It will show.

Pay it Back

• You and your business donate to charity.
• Start your own charity or benefit.
• Help your employees learn, grow and develop.
• Good leadership means sharing your knowledge and mentoring those around you.
• Recognize exceptional performances and reward publicly.
• Use your skills and knowledge to write a book.

 

NETWORKING = GETTING BUSINESS

During the past year, or so I’ve attended a number of networking and referral groups. It never ceases to amaze me how many people simply don’t come prepared…or don’t seem to know what to do at these events.

They don’t wear the nametags usually provided for them…and if they do, they don’t write their names or business name large enough or legibly.  They don’t bring anything to write with (or on), and more often than not, they don’t bring business cards, or the right mindset to make the investment of time and money really pay off.

At a recent event I found myself speaking to a business executive.  It sounded like the company was doing some fascinating things.  I had some questions I wanted to ask, and a few ideas I wanted to share about how to possibly improve her business…but on the floor of a networking event wasn’t the best place to get into such a discussion.  I wanted to follow up with this person after the event, so I asked for one of her business cards, as I was reaching into my pocket for one of my own. In an embarrassed tone she mumbled to himself about not being sure where they were, or if she even had any with her.

She pulled out her purse and began looking through the various sections, becoming more anxious as the seconds crept by and the silence of our interrupted conversation became more and more uncomfortable. As I watched her it felt as if I was an eye-witness to an archaeological expedition.  She pulled out credit card receipts, credit cards, family pictures, her driver’s license, and other people’s business cards…most with notes scribbled on the back. Sheepishly she said, “I know I’ve got one...somewhere.  Let me look in my briefcase.”  The search continued.  She opened her briefcase, which was packed with files and papers, memos, reports, newsletters, newspapers, and perhaps at the bottom, a business card. Finally she found a shabby, dog-eared one and handed it to me.  We agreed to speak again…and moved on.

Wanting to make a few quick notes on the back of her business card to facilitate adding her to my database, and planning to give her a call in a few days, I turned the card over…and there were notes already scribbled all over it.  I made my notes in a small white space I found in one corner.  When I got back to my office I updated my contact database.  Who knows where the business card I gave her might have ended up?

A few moments later, I began a conversation with networking partner. We spoke for a few moments, and when I asked if he’d be interested in hearing more about one of my marketing approaches he said he would.  So I asked him for a business card. He opened his portfolio, and began a similar ritual rummage through its contents.  He found just about everything…except a business card.

Finally, after a minute or more of silent searching I handed him one of mine…along with a pen, and asked him to write his name, e-mail address, and any other contact information on the back.  When I retrieved my card back I handed him another of mine…which got promptly added to his bulging portfolio.

Business cards are not terribly expensive.  You can buy five hundred for $50 to $150, depending on whether you go for black & white or color, and how much graphic work is required.  You can even create your own, quite simply, on your computer.  But if you forget to carry them around with you…what good are they. You never know when you’ll meet someone who could become a customer, business associate, or ‘circle of influence’ contact.  Rule # 1…always be prepared for opportunity.

While waiting for my flight I found myself sitting in the departures lounge next to a business owner- who was also headed to Denver. We arranged to sit together during the flight and had a great conversation.  When the plane landed, we continued our conversation as we walked into the terminal and collected our luggage.  During the few hours we spent together we discovered we shared a number of common philosophies and business interests.

Before saying goodbye we both made notes to ourselves…on the backs of each other’s business card…about what we would do next.  We’ve since exchanged e-mails and have agreed to exchange additional information.

Tips & Suggestions:

1-    Always keep a large quantity of business cards in your briefcase, wallet, or purse and replenish your supply after every meeting and networking event.

2-    Create a system for giving and taking business cards.  You might consider keeping yours in your shirt pocket or left-hand pants pocket (or a certain pocket in your purse or briefcase) and put the cards you receive in your right-hand pants pocket (purse or briefcase).

3-    When you receive someone’s card carefully review it before you put it in your designated ‘place.’  Look at their name, look at their face.  Make a mental picture of both their name/face so you can have more than a printed card to remember them by.

4-    After meeting someone, note key pieces of information on the back of the card, and any action items or follow-up you have committed to (or want to) when you return to your office.  If you don’t want to follow up or put them in your database, discretely write an X across the card.

Your Job Is To Follow-Up

Giving someone your business card isn’t nearly as important as getting the other person’s business card. If you hand someone your card, and then expect them to call you up, you’re going to be sitting by the phone for a long time.  In fact when others ask me for mine, I often teasingly reply “I only get cards…I don’t give them.”

The real reason most of us aren’t effective net-workers is that we don’t have a good follow-up system. When you meet someone, and want to keep in touch with them, take the responsibility to put their name in your database, schedule a follow-up call, and then…call them.

HOLDING EMPLOYEES ACCOUNTABLE

One of the most common complaints I hear from business leaders is about a “lack of accountability” in their company. They claim to have the “Vision” identified – they know where they are going (even if their people don’t). They claim to have a Strategic Plan (more likely a set of projections and goals – but unfortunately goal setting is not strategy). And they think they have the right people on their team (sort of). But what really frustrates the business leader is the struggle to get their employees to do what needs to get done – and do it faster!

So I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let’s say you do have a well-articulated vision of what your company can become. You have crafted a winning strategy to get there, and you have made your plan visible to all your staff using a One Page Strategic Plan. You have followed a rigorous recruitment process and have hired a team full of high performing “A” Players.  So, now what?

Business Execution is still the #1 Challenge

Even with all these elements in place, execution is still the #1 challenge for business leaders. A good starting point to drive execution and accountability is to clearly document the performance standards for each role:

1. The key duties and outcomes that each role and employee is accountable for

2. The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) number(s) that will be used to measure successful performance in the role

3. Every role should have at least one tangible measure of successful performance - that can be tracked every week (or at least monthly).

YOU drive Accountability

Assuming you have recruited the right person for each role who; (a) “fits” with your company Core Values; and (b) has the necessary competencies to succeed in the role - the onus is on YOU the manager to provide the necessary training and support – AND you must hold the person accountable for meeting the required performance standards.

 

This is where many managers struggle. Accountability requires the discipline of giving your people regular feedback on their performance. We recommend this feedback is given every week. Business Execution Software makes this easy.

 

What are the consequences?

 

Every week, when your employee completes their tasks, moves their projects forward, and meets their KPI targets - the consequence should be that they receive genuine praise from their manager. Good performance must be recognized and reinforced.

 

Poor performance must also be confronted immediately. If there are no consequences, the manager is implying that poor performance and lack of accountability is acceptable. The consequence should be that both the manager and the employee discuss the poor performance, identify the cause, and agree the specific actions that both parties will take to improve the results before the next weekly meeting.

 

Increase Employee Accountability

1-    Time and Attendance Software  -  Once an employee clocks-in, the information is recorded and can then be uploaded onto the time and attendance software allowing for accurate tracking of employee attendance. This software can also be incorporated into the billing software, allowing the track of hours by client or project.

2-    SMART Goals  -  Empower your employees to set their own SMART Goals  SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented and time-bound. Note that all individual SMART Goals drive the Strategic Plan.

3-    Team Incentive Programs: Team incentive programs will allow employees to reach their highest accountability and potential. Employees will work together towards completing common goals, and will be compensated for going above and beyond the goals set out for them.

4-    Prioritization: Employees often struggle to balance tasks and goals and eventually become overwhelmed and unable to complete their tasks on time. It is important to help your employees prioritize their responsibilities in relation to your company’s overall goals. Helping to prioritize will allow your employees to feel more organized and competent in the tasks they are assigned.

5-    Monitor Progress: Monitoring your employees’ progress will help motivate them to be more productive and accountable. It is only natural that when we know someone is watching our progress that we will try to perform to our best abilities. Along with monitoring employee progress, it is equally important to share progress reports with them so they may learn what areas need more attention and what areas they are excelling in.

SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES DO THIS

What are the reasons that some companies (and people) reach their goals, while others never seem to fulfill their potential?

Playing to your companies’ natural strengths and talents is one of the major keys to success.  In other words, doing those things that comes naturally and easy – things that are enjoyable and fulfilling.  In addition, successful companies achieve their goals not only because of who they are, but more often because of “what they do.”  Here is our take on what successful companies (and people) really do:

Be specific.

When you set a goal, make it obvious exactly what you want to achieve and by when.  Just expressing an outcome (e.g. sell 100 widgets this quarter) is not as powerful as expressing your goal as a specific, tangible project that will achieve the desired outcome when successfully implemented.  Your goal should not be that easy ‘reachable’ goal; rather it should be that goal that you have never been able to achieve even when it may seem a little uncomfortable.  So how much ‘stretching’ outside your comfort zone are you willing to do, in order to achieve that goal?  Remember, change never happens until your drive yourself out of your comfort zone. 

 

Test

 

Goals and projects should be expressed in a way that it is obvious what the finish line is that you intend to hit by the due date.  For long term projects – what are the desired milestones that you must reach by the end of this quarter?  Is it clear to everyone at which point they can pop the champagne cork to celebrate achieving a specific milestone? 

 

Optimism with Realism

 

Just when you set yourself up to succeed, ‘stuff’ happens and fires need fighting.  By setting SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals and due dates that take into account that you will also may need to deal with any fires (or Chaos) that normally comes along in the process - yet can still achieve your milestones.  Don’t underestimate the difficulties and challenges you will face along the way, rather allow for these as a business variable in your plan and for the opportunity to identify and fix a weak link. Don’t forget to DWYSYWD (Do What You Say You Will Do).

 

Make Time

 

“Business as usual” must keep happening in the meantime. You still need to create opportunities, make sales, deliver products and services, and collect money – the stuff you do every day to pay the bills.  But you still need to manage your own time to work on the strategic plan– we suggest a half-day every week. Then, you must take specific meaningful actions on a regular basis that will move your strategic priorities forward.  

 

Specific

 

What number one action can you “complete” by the end of the week that is going to move your progress forward another step?  Be specific.  It needs to be a binary (yes/no) action that is within your control that you can check off and be held accountable for saying, “Yes, I completed that action this week.”  Also, build an accountability system designed for all key persons involved in execution of the strategic plan, with a weekly action chart to track the activities and accomplishment of the key milestones. 

 

Measure Progress

 

You can only measure, by tracking exactly how far you have come and know exactly how far you have left to go.  Measure your progress every week.  Are you on schedule?  Or do you need help?  Are you behind schedule and in danger of missing your due date?  Be honest and confront the brutal facts.  Don’t wait until the near the due date to signal that you are running behind.  

 

Man Up!  (or the female equivalent)

 

Show that you have whatever is necessary to overcome the obstacles and get it done.  The more you exercise your courage muscle, the stronger it becomes.  There are things we have to do that we don’t particularly enjoy doing in order to achieve success – but everyone has to “eat your veggies” before you get to have any dessert.

 

Celebrate

 

Pop the cork when project goals are reached.  The bigger the achievement the bigger the celebration.  Hard work, commitment and vision needs to be recognized and praised on a regular basis. So, put away "the whip" and enjoy those moments of success!