Strategic Discipline Blog

It’s possibly one of the most damning statements that can be made about a person or business.  It’s the equivalent of Jim Collins, “Good is the enemy of great.”

A singular focus [One Thing] can have a profound effect on your business.  In April of last year one of my clients [name withheld to protect business secrets] had Positioning Systems come to his office in California to conduct our Two Day Rockefeller Habits Workshop.  At the time their business was lagging 7% behind the previous year and struggling to get traction.   Among the many ideas and actions that had an immediate impact was to go through the Strength Based Leadership Test and identify where his executive talents were.  At the time the business was struggling to execute in the field and we identified several of the executive that had execution themes, reassigned them to positions were they could have the greatest affect and influence on the business.  We reassigned others based on their top themes and the results were almost immediate and dramatic.  By year end they turned their 7% decline into a 15% gain for the year.

Last blog I discussed the importance of rituals and routines in developing accountability.  A recent article in the New York Times caught my attention since it focused on successful companies and the importance of getting the right people to make a business great.  People decisions are extremely important to making your business successful, and too often we fail to recognize how keeping the wrong people in our business holds us back.  We don’t see this as a piece of the accountability puzzle.  

“I’d get up at 4:30 AM, exercise, read something inspirational, and then have a healthy breakfast.  That was my routine.”  My client was explaining why he decided to re-gage our coaching work.  When we were working together this had been his faithful morning regiment, every day. For the past year or better he explained he’d not been following this routine and he found his business and personal focus suffering. 

Ten to twelve inches or more of snow fell throughout the Midwest yesterday.  As I pulled and pulled on my snow blower to get it restarted I was reminded of the importance of customer and employee feedback which is a staple of our weekly meeting rhythms.  Had I paid attention to my own discovery during the last snow fall I wouldn’t have been stuck having to remove a foot of snow from more than half my driveway and sidewalk yesterday morning.  Why hadn’t I paid heed when my snow blower stopped several times when I last used it?

Saturday evening I attended my youngest son Noah’s concerts.  The coordination between orchestra sections and individual students at the sixth, seventh and eighth grade level can be challenging, yet it’s surprising how much harmony a group of 60 or more 12-14 year olds can offer.  This orchestra mixed students from the different high school middle schools in the area.  They only had a couple of practices and yet performed remarkably well.  When it comes together it really is inspiring.

In our last blog NFL Winning Formula – Rhythm we discussed the value or routine in building a successful business model and how this mirrors successful sports team formulas.

You already know I’m a Packer fan, and of course this weekend they play the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.  The Bears and Packers rivalry is the longest in the NFL.  It conjures up images and memories of Vince Lombardi and George Halas, figures that represent the trophies that are at stake this week and for the Super Bowl. 

Last blog I promised I’d have some insights from Jonathon Davis of Hire Better on A players and Multipliers.  Instead I’ll have that information next week. 

Monday evening I had the opportunity to work with a basketball official who in addition to having officiated in the Iowa High School tournament is also officiating at the college level and serves as a trainer to referees in this area.  It was a refreshing change from some of the other officials I work with, and I noticed that his professionalism and excellence made me up my game improving my overall performance.