"Management is getting things done through other people." As good as you are, you need others to do everything you promise to do when you’re running a business.
Regardless how you see it, you’re responsible for results. That means addressing anything that doesn’t help you generate results.
When we work with a client, we look for factors that are likely to prevent a client from achieving the success it’s potentially able to produce. Here are some of our favorites:
NO PLAN
Getting from ‘here’ to ‘there’ is not an accident. At least it shouldn’t be. And, if it is, it’s going to take longer and cost more than it should and you’ll like. So having a plan — not just goals — to make things happen is an essential element for your success.
NO ORGANIZATION
Every business has to respond to various challenges that are impediments to delivering the value the business was created to produce in the first place. Your ability to do this, especially through others, reflects your firm’s structure — i.e. the roles and capabilities of your people who are ‘on the bus’. If the right people aren’t in the right seats . . . your organization is trying to ‘go fast’ with one foot on the brake.
NO PEOPLE
Well, I hope you have people because of what managing means — "getting things done through others". But if your people aren’t capable of doing what you need them to do, this is going to reflect in missed goals and lower productivity than you’ll like.
NO TRAINING
If your people can’t deliver the performance you want from them . . . the burden of performing as your implicit value proposition suggests will fall on others, on you or . . . (ugh!) ‘through the cracks’. None of these options are desirable. Fortunately, you can anticipate, assess and address them with a good coaching partner.
NO SUPPORT
Even the best people, fully trained and properly motivated, can’t deliver the results you want if they’re operating under system-imposed limitations. These include not having the time, people, skills, and tools that desired results require. If these are not made available, by you, to deliver the promises and overcome the challenges your firm must face on a daily basis, something’s going to come up short.
NO ACCOUNTABILITY
The old saw about “Inspect what you expect” is still valid. Do you have clear goals and action plans to achieve them? Are your short-term goals aligned to support your long-term objectives? Do you tend to confuse being busy with being productive?
You need both a system to check on whether you’re getting what you want as well as the personal ability to ask the tough questions and withstand the heat of interpersonal conflict that tends to arise when you ask them of your people.
While there are many different factors that enable or cripple your success, these are some of the main ones that are often ‘hiding in plain sight’ and deserve your attention if they’re not helping you generate the success you’re seeking and richly deserve.
[FREE REPORT] Key Factors That Will Guide You to Success
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