At the end of 2019 I challenged you to think of luck as ‘preparation for opportunity’, to keep your senses alive and be open to spotting opportunities which might otherwise pass right under your nose. I hope you tried it and found some level of success – it would be great to hear your stories...
The dawning of a fresh new year is always an opportunity to think about success, to recalibrate your thinking and re-energise yourself. Whether you are updating your bucket list, resetting your business goals or simply trying to improve your health.
It is interesting to ask ourselves why some people need a New Year resolution in order to shine. Why can’t we operate at full capacity every day; week in, week out month in month out? Well the answer is that some people can and are able to ‘reboot’ on a daily basis to great effect.
I have been fortunate enough to meet many successful business owners over the years and have studied what makes some of the most successful tick. It is interesting that although they are all different, there are certain common attributes which set them apart. These I can sum up as adaptability, a cool head, a laser-like focus and often an obsession for getting the work done.
One CEO who ran a large service business with over 200 staff, started his working day at 6.30am, when he would work on projects, strategy and basically clear his desk and inbox. He would schedule his meetings for 10am to 1pm and always take 45 minutes’ break during which he would invariably go for a walk.
This left him free during the afternoon to speak to and listen to the people in his organisation, meet with partners and really work on the strategy and spirit of the business. He would leave the office most days about 3.30pm to pick his kids up from school or go and watch them play sport.
When I asked him how this improved the business, he explained that he saw his role as creating the conditions in which his team would thrive. By having a very light touch on the tiller, as with steering a boat, you anticipate what is coming and make very slight adjustments to stay on course. This is in contrast to waiting until you need a bigger adjustment or change, which results in the boat tacking from side to side and wasting time and energy. He pointed out that a business owner’s role is as much about getting out of the way and leaving the ship to sail without interfering too much.
‘Nose in – fingers out’ is a phrase which comes to mind when owning your own practice or when you manage a team of people. In my time as a CEO I was often reminded that the best thing I could do for the team was to leave them alone to get on with it.
For those fortunate enough to have flown a helicopter, you will know that when you let go of the joy stick the aircraft flies at the same height in the same direction. Only very slight adjustments are needed to keep the aircraft stable. Too much ‘fiddling’ and the helicopter will start to yaw and sway from side to side, requiring ever increasing interventions.
My challenge to you this month is to try to be more ‘hands off’. Try allowing a new system to bed in for longer or allow staff or colleagues responsible for implementing something new time to see what is really happening and fix it themselves.
When things are going well, encourage the team to keep things going by not interfering. If things could be better – try asking questions so that people discover the answers for themselves. Allow your team the space and opportunity to find ways to improve your businesses processes. After all they are the ones at the sharp end and they probably know what works and what doesn’t.
Fact or fiction?
I was reminded today of the story of the global toothpaste manufacturer who spent millions in marketing research in order to find ways for their customers to use more toothpaste.
One day in a meeting the marketing team of a famous toothpaste manufacturer had organised a focus group of staff, to see if they could find ways to improve the business. One of the office juniors listened without saying much and eventually when the discussion turned to how they could increase the amount of toothpaste they sold – he finally chirped up.
‘Since people tend to squeeze out a certain length of toothpaste,’ he said, ‘instead of trying to change that habit why don’t we use it to our advantage?’ Somewhat confused, the facilitator asked the young man to explain.
‘Well, we cannot get people to change the length of their toothpaste, so change the width. If we make the hole 5% larger, surely people will use 5% more!’
‘That’s genius,’ said a colleague. ‘Amazing,’ exclaimed another. ‘Why didn’t you tell us this before?’ asked the marketing manager.
‘Well that’s an easy question to answer,’ said the junior. ‘You never asked me until now.’
Until next time…