“It doesn’t make much difference how much other knowledge or experience an executive possesses; if he is unable to achieve results through people, he is worthless as an executive.”
-J. Paul Getty
Leadership is not reality until someone follows. While serving in the military I had the opportunity to work for some great leaders. I learned from them how to set goals and establish accountability to make sure everyone knew what was expected. A clearly communicated vision, goals and objectives helps to keep things straightforward and simple. The key is to keep it simple.
Business owners, executives and managers must lead people for a business to sustain success. Leaders must learn to equip their people, establish goals and accountability standards, then let go and monitor progress and results. Once this is in place leaders should spend most of their time asking what and why instead of how and when.
“When leaders take back power, when they act as heroes and saviors, they end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and deeply stressed.”
-Margaret J. Wheatly
As leader, don’t overcomplicate business. Remember, just like the leaders I had the opportunity to learn from, keep it simple and straightforward. Simplicity creates clarity of focus and focus leads to superior performance. Here is a simple framework you can use to see and guide your enterprise.
How do you create a simple business plan? How do you achieve results? Again, you must keep things simple and focused. With your team’s involvement, agree on and set yearly goals. Then, on a 90-day cycle, gather your team and hold your people accountable for the agreed-upon results. This implementation process is just as important as the goals. Do not tolerate excuses; insist on execution and results.
In short, you must select a few key strategies and implement like mad. Success is more about execution than anything else. Focus on the vital few things that produce most of your results instead of the trivial many that waste time and energy but produce very little. Energy focused on a few very important goals is powerful.
Please note, I am not talking about setting goals to achieve incremental improvements in performance or processes. I am talking about big and bold goals – goals on steroids. Be innovative and think big. Go for breakthroughs, not mere incremental gains. Realize there are no rules or restrictions. As long as what you do is moral, legal, and ethical, do not be chained to company history or industry standards or practices. In short, kill the “we have always done it this way” mentality. Shake habitual thinking patterns.
Performance goals, at a minimum, should be set in the critical success areas of your business:
- Leadership
- Business Systemization
- Marketing
- Selling
- Operations (Fulfillment)
- Customer Service
- Back-office Operations
In fact, your yearly business plan could be nothing more than 3-5 monster-size goals in each one of these key areas. Once you have your yearly goals established, assign a person to champion each cause. Give each person the authority, time, and tools to make things happen. On a 90-day cycle, hold each person accountable for progress on his or her goal(s).
These audacious, challenging, and adrenalin-inducing goals should be SMART
Specific
Measurable
Aggressive
Realistic
Timed
Force your people to stretch. What gets measured gets done. What gets rewarded gets repeated. As a leader, insist on aggressive implementation, follow-up, follow-through, and results. Intentions and plans are mostly meaningless; implementation is where success is found.
“It’s not a blame game. Its’s accountability! It’s accountability!”
-Terry Moran
Here are some questions to help you get started as you begin laying out a plan for developing or updating a system to run your business.
- Do I have a clear vision for my business?
- Does my team clearly understand my vision? Are their daily actions based on making my vision a reality?
- Do I have clear, SMART goals?
- If I compare my goals to my vision will they look like they are pointed in the same direction?
- Do I have a way to hold myself and my team accountable for accomplishing my goals?
Take some time to answer these questions honestly and write your answers down. Remember to keep your goals focused on your vision. Most of all keep things simple and make sure your team clearly understands.
“Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.”
-Bo Jackson
