I often meet entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses, provide added value to their customers, hire more employees, or take their businesses “to the next level.” Yet, when I ask them what steps they are actively taking to achieve those goals, I am often met with silence. Sometimes my question is met with a lot of excuses.
As business owners and leaders, your days are filled with multiple, often competing, priorities. There are days when it is difficult to come up for air. Your work life can be so busy that you focus on the things that have the loudest voice, which doesn’t necessarily equate to the best voice. It can be easier to deal with whichever predicament is in front of you at the moment.
Unfortunately, this practice comes with a price. If you want to change your world, you must challenge your fears and take action.
In his 2001 business classic, Good to Great, Jim Collins said, “Every good-to-great company faced significant adversity along the way to greatness.” He concluded that good companies became great because of three types of discipline:
- Disciplined People – getting the right people and keeping them focused on excellence
- Disciplined Thought – being honest about the facts without getting sidetracked
- Disciplined Action – understanding what is essential to achieve and what is not
Here is an exercise that can help you identify your organization’s challenges. Gather your Leadership Team and list the five most critical facts about each of the three disciplines listed above. Be specific and only list facts, not ideas or opinions.
This will help you determine the actions you can take to create a strategic plan and move your company forward. If you want to change your world, find your courage. What do you want that you don’t yet have? You will get it when you decide there is no other option for you. Remove every other option.
Does your business need help identifying its challenges so it can find its path to greatness? That’s where I come in. If you’d like to talk it over, please fill out the consult form below to request a no-obligation consult call with me. We can work together to make sure your company is moving forward.
