Before starting your strategic focus and priority management process, you need to understand the following key terminology as defined by The Growth Coach:
Productivity – achieving the greatest results in the shortest period of time.
Leverage – achieving the greatest results with the least amount of effort.
Effectiveness – doing the right things to produce superior results.
Efficiency – doing things right to produce consistent and rapid results.
Strategic – planning for and executing on high-level, high-priority and high leverage activities that produce optimal results.
Your major objectives should be:
1. Be more focused, effective and strategic;
2. Earn more money;
3. Work less; and
4. Enjoy a richer and more fulfilling life.
The path to earning more and working less involves:
1. Face reality – get to know your business and yourself better.
2. Define and write down your visions and goals – focus.
3. Adopt a strategic focus and priority management system – Stop acting like an employee and start thinking and acting like a CEO, work on your business, not in it.
4. Utilize a strategic selling process that helps you gain and keep clients.
5. Understand the difference between marketing and selling, and start leveraging the power of marketing to achieve substantial growth.
6. Excel at leadership, not doer-ship – create a vision and excite your employees.
7. Effectively manage your greatest asset – your people.
8. Develop clarity of direction for your business with a simple business plan and an accountability process.
9. Systematize your business by creating, documenting and improving all your key processes, procedures and policies. Document your business, properly train your employees and replace yourself in the technical trenches by delegating to others.
10. Learn to let go and enjoy life. Trust your systems, your people and your leadership talents.
The strategic focusing and priority management process is not about being right or wrong; it is about becoming more effective. Ask yourself if what you are doing is working. You need to look at your results and not your intentions. If you do not like the results of each of your activities and processes, then you need to consider ways you can change the activities and processes that are not yielding the results you desire. You need to be honest with yourself and willing to adopt more effective beliefs, habits and strategies.
Take the time for a personal gut check. Which of the following are either partially or fully true about you:
1. I crave more personal time and freedom.
2. At times, I feel like a prisoner to my business.
3. I routinely say, “I didn’t get anything accomplished today.”
4. I feel like I’m working too much and earning too little.
5. I feel out of control.
6. I reactively tackle urgent matters instead of important matters.
7. I’m caught working in my business instead of on my business.
8. I’m juggling too much and feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
9. I’m chained to my desk, phone, blackberry, e-mail, etc.
10. I’m the chief go-to problem solver in my business.
11. I occasionally suffer from business owner blues.
12. I’m stuck doing everything myself.
13. Clutter, complexity and confusion have overtaken my life.
The more of these you identify with, the more you need to start utilizing the S.T.O.P. system.
You have the power to change what’s not working well in your business and can be improved. Get rid of what’s completely broken and doesn’t need to be a part of your business. Always continue to improve what’s working well in your business.
The question is: Are you willing to be bold enough and dedicated enough to work harder in the immediate future in order to increase long term revenue in less time while enjoying a richer, more fulfilling life for the long term?
Rick Brines is the owner of The Growth Coach of Chattanooga. He can be reached at 423-886-6985 or R.Brines@TheGrowthCoach.com.