As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, but before he could reach the top of the hill, the rock would always roll back down, forcing him to begin again. Don’t be that guy.
Recognizing what does not work is often the hardest principle to execute, because it requires the owner, manager, supervisor, or the whole team at the business to take an honest look at everything and own up to the practices, actions, attitudes, habits, and people that are just not working as they should to help grow the business.
This requires leaders not only to be honest with themselves and their team about the areas they may be falling short in (either individually or collectively) but, more importantly, it forces them to take action now that opportunities to improve are out in the open.
The payoff is huge when you take a negative habit and turn it into a positive one! You’re not slowing things down anymore—you are speeding them up! It changes momentum, and one act at a time, the momentum builds. The best companies get to watch it happen all the time!
Whether they admit it or not, the vast majority of leaders are not willing to candidly look in the mirror, leave their ego on the floor and admit what they personally (or the company as a whole) stink at.
Honestly, who in their right mind really wants to openly admit their mistakes, weaknesses, bad hires, flawed strategies, poor practices, or candidly own up to the fact that their idea is not working? Smart leaders do!
I have yet to find a single company that does everything right and does nothing to hinder its own growth. Some come pretty close, but those are the rare companies that have the discipline, humility, and candor that allows them to catch mistakes quickly, welcome the opportunity to improve, and change course as needed.
Most businesses, however, are slowed by individual or corporate ego, a defensive mentality, or a general unwillingness to expose any vulnerability. How many times have you interacted with a company/department leader or an employee that just didn’t “get it”? How many times have you seen situations where those involved honestly seemed clueless, indifferent, or, at times, actively defensive about what you could see plain as day was a stupid decision, policy, or action that worked against their own or their company’s success?
Do you or I see these because we have some incredible powers of perception? I’d love that to be true but, candidly, it is just because we are thinking with a sales mindset and an objective perspective.
Who actually wants to hear what they are doing wrong?
- Smart and humble leaders.
- Owners who are continuously successful at building and growing their companies.
- Managers who really want to know the truth about their business, as well as their own personal performance.
- Supervisors who recognize that ignorance leads to failure far more often than it does to bliss.
- Leaders that command the respect and get the best performance out of their team.
Does your business stifle change?
“Please do not tell me anything that could, in any way, improve upon the success of this company.”
How many times have you heard about an employee’s or customer’s suggestion that got ignored by someone who could do something about it? Far worse, but no less common, how many times have you seen or heard about someone actually suffering from their persistence in pushing for intelligent change?
In these situations, it is as if the leader at the company or team is jumping up onto a podium, and declaring: “If there is something that I or my company could be doing better that would lead us to greater success, not only do I not want you to tell me about it, but I may think poorly of you for doing so, or actually reprimand you! I do not want to know what our customers think of our company. I do not want to know if you have a better idea for how to handle something in our business. And, for God’s sake, if I am or our company is making a mistake or underperforming versus our potential, the last thing in the world I want you to do is tell me about it!
"I CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”
It may sound ridiculous when you look at it like that, but it happens to some degree every day in every company, including my own. Most of us just don’t take the time to recognize it. Even fewer take the time to whack themselves upside the head to change their thinking and their communication.
The fastest way between two points is a straight line
One great example of how business owners fall into this trap is a firm I worked with a few years ago. They were a trading market education firm that focused on bringing in clients who wanted to learn how to trade the stock index market in a live, interactive trading room. The trading room gave new traders all the education and personal mentoring they needed to understand the system and succeed. The sales team had a great pitch, mixing in success stories, indicating the ongoing potential of the service, and offering a live demonstration. Unfortunately, this strategy did not turn into sales. This firm had a solid product that should have sold itself, but it wasn’t nearly living up to its potential.
The problem was in how they presented the online demo and how they followed up on their initial pitch. Their sole focus for the demo was to exhibit the program, not to sell the program, while they had the prospect’s interest and attention. Rather than personally calling prospects to close the sale, they would follow-up via email. The reps would sweat out a one-word difference in how the email was written, for hours, because they thought it could make the difference in securing a sale. Does that sound smart for a company trying to sell a $5,000 piece of software?
When the owner took a step back, he intelligently realized that he should be focusing more intently on getting the prospects on board with the product during the live demo.
The demonstration is the time when the master of the product can fully show the prospect what they will be paying $5,000 for, and why that is a reasonable investment toward potential long-term success as a trader. Few able-minded people will willingly part with five grand over email. They want to see the product in action, to see how that product can justify their money in the long-term, and the seller needs to act on that when potential customer’s interest and enthusiasm for moving forward is at its peak. Now, the company is doing fewer demos with more qualified prospects and getting more sales.
Excuses, excuses
- I have more important fires to worry about.
- I don’t have time today to address it.
- It involves change and I don’t want to open up that can of worms.
- Every business has some problems, and my business is working well enough.
- I am the smartest person in my company. If the idea was dumb, I would have recognized it.
Why does this happen in the business world every day?
Common sense would seem to favor us being aware of those big problems that can often be solved with small changes; however, very few are working to dig for those issues. Far fewer actually do something about the problem when we realize there is one. Why?
In one way or another, we each would describe it in some form of stuff gets in the way. We are making the choices and we are the only ones that can start turning stupid into successful.
Is your business working the best that it could be? Why are you not striving for excellence and, instead, settling for mediocrity? Many times, the things that can be improved are not just holding your company from reaching its highest potential. They can literally be damaging your company, your reputation, your results, and eating away at the opportunity that is in front of you every moment that you allow them to exist.
Overwhelmed or thinking you can’t do it all?
Here is a hint: Start by looking at all your “assumptions."
Are you starting to feel down and out? Are you suddenly realizing the extent of everything that might be holding you or your company back? Are you thinking that fixing all that ails you is a daunting task, or a never-ending stream of bad news that looks a little overwhelming to tackle?
Fear not. After all, “Rome wasn’t built in a day." Reaching your company’s maximum potential is a life-long marathon, not a sprint to the finish line by next week. You just have to make a move, right now, to build both your momentum and commitment through each day and each success. Remember, changing an action from a negative one to a positive one gives you double the payback—payback that allows momentum to build quickly.
Leading by example
Recognizing a limitation or an area where improvement is needed, along with actually doing something about it, will not only lead to better results, but it teaches those around you. Lead by example—demonstrate to your team what real leadership looks and acts like. Leading by example builds their confidence in the company and its leadership. Strive for leadership that is not only humble, candid, and proactive, but that which supports its team when they make mistakes, (as long as they recognize them as fast as possible and act with a passion and purpose about improving in those areas).
By being proactive in improvement, you are demonstrating that the company is:
- Clearly committed to open, honest communication.
- Truly driven to be the best at what they do.
- Willing to listen to every person and idea that could potentially help them achieve that.
Everyone holds a key
Do what William Wallace did against the British in the late 13th century — lead by example.
Whether it be an employee of mine, a customer, a partner I am working with on a project, or anyone else that can share some insight on my performance, each holds the key for tomorrow to be better than today.
What may put a dent in my own short-term assessment of how well I am performing for a client, or how strong and effective I am as a leader to those working with me, is absolutely required reading that needs to be digested, understood, and acted upon if I truly believe in this whole notion of growth.
The key is to create a culture in which the employees feel the same desire to grow as you do and follow your humble lead in embracing change when it clearly leads to better results.