Q: How many times do we jump on the latest trend in business?
A: Constantly.
Consider this…how many times have you used the word tariff in the last two months? Yes, they were massively impactful (I’ll let you decide if they were positive or negative); yet they instantly evolved into the ‘crutch of the moment.’
Did work stop? Did the need to provide care to patients suddenly disappear? Did the demand for new cars, appliances, clothes and tech suddenly evaporate?
No.
Q: Confrontation is still the biggest barrier to business success, right?
A: An emphatic, yes.
Consider this…you’ve identified what needs to happen in order to jump start growth for your organization…or to solve a persistent operational challenge…or to make a bold move to take your team to the next level. You have the tools in place to execute and the timeline is set up to begin. Yet…the direct conversations and accountability necessary to ensure success is simply dropped at the last moment.
Why?
Fear. In the end, we’d rather be popular than effective.
Chasing quick fixes and latching onto the latest round of business excuses may provide some sort of odd comfort to justify poor performance, but at the end of the day building a plan, staying patient, executing consistently, engaging your employees throughout and achieving results is what it’s all about.
Harvard Business Review states that “only 16% of top leaders were rated very effective at either strategy or execution. Only 8% were very effective at both, while 63% were rated neutral or worse on at least one dimension.”
Surprised? Me neither.
Mindset and execution, as always, are everything.
– What do we ultimately decide to focus on?
– What do we allow to distract us?
– What do we identify as opportunities for our own continuing learning and growth (vs convincing ourselves we already know it all?)
What do you think?
Thanks for being here.
Jay
