Strategic Discipline Blog

Recently I rediscovered the value of routine when I purchased a new computer.  If you’ve had the occasion to move to a new computer recently perhaps you will recognize the disruptive forces that occur when suddenly you are without the use of your computer for several hours or in my case more than a day as your old data is restored to your new computer. 

Without my computer I suddenly was without reminders, and addresses, the data for habits that drive much of my behavior.  Affirmations I repeat each morning, appointment and call back times that I rely on for my computer was no longer available to me.  To a great extent I felt lost. 

The situation didn’t automatically rectify itself once I received the computer back.  There were still programs that needed to be reloaded, email to be sorted through and reminders that needed to be tweaked and corrected.  My printer wouldn’t immediately work which caused delays in getting work completed.  The whole process of moving to a new computer was extremely unsettling and troublesome.

You and I are creatures of habits.  Nathaniel Emmons offered, “Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.”  Stephen R. Covey noted, "Power is the faculty or capacity to act, the strength and potency to accomplish something. It is the vital energy to make choices and decisions. It also includes the capacity to overcome deeply embedded habits and to cultivate higher, more effective ones."

Why all this stuff about habits and routines?  It's the habits and routines in our business that drive performance.  Good habits and routines maintain or increase performance.  Poor habits decrease performance.  Meeting rhythms are an essential habit for companies to establish, yet in most companies these vital communication and accountability opportunities fail to occur or measure up to the required levels of standard to produce effective results. 

To achieve the right outcomes, effective meeting rhythms can be your best servants. Routine can set you free.  The Rockefeller Habits Checklist is an important example of ten crucial routines when practiced can elevate your business to a higher level.  Most importantly it will provide your team and particularly you the president or owner the opportunity to observe your business from the “control tower” view that provides freedom, confidence, plus the intimate knowledge and security your business is consistently on track.

We’ll explore the value of the Rockefeller Habits Checklist as the measuring stick I feel it provides toward achieving the freedom Michael Gerber described in The E-Myth Revisited next blog.