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Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
 We hear more and more today about the need for creativity and innovation. You’ve heard this many times: “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against being creative and innovative; the fact is a company (of any size) can’t survive without innovating. The problem comes in when the emphasis is on generating ideas, rather than on turning those clever new ideas into actions.
“Ideating” is energizing and glamorous. It’s intellectually stimulating to think about what could be in terms of new products and new services. But all the new ideas in the world will not create new products or actually provide those new services.
It’s Not About Innovation – It’s About Action
For most individuals, and most organizations, generating a host of new ideas or services isn’t the problem. Entrepreneurial minds are continually churning out all kind of ideas for the better mousetrap. Executives and senior managers are always dreaming up new ideas to beat the competition and capture the market.
Generating new ideas is fun and challenging, but here’s the rub: Once clarity is developed as to what the new product or service should look like, the process often begins to break down. While being an innovator is sexy, doing the work of bringing a shiny new idea to reality is not. Executing on new ideas is hard. Taking that important next step from idea to action is a grind, and most folks would rather dream about what could be than make the dream a reality. Remember, success is about doing, not about dreaming.
Taking the appropriate actions, in the proper order, and using the right people, are the keys to building that new mousetrap or providing a new and improved service.
Creating a strategic performance advantage requires three things:
1. Clarity; 2. Focus; and 3. Focused Actions.
1. Be clear on what you want to accomplish – and why. (Clarity)
2. Identify those vital few initiatives that will move the process forward in the shortest period of time. (Focus)
3. Assign responsibility to specific individuals – for specific tasks – to be completed in a specific time frame. (Focused Actions)
Innovation is good. Actually making a new idea a reality is better. Success is not about dreaming, it’s about doing!
Tags: accomplish, action, business, clarity, creativity, focus, ideas, innovation, responsibility
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Creating a strategic performance advantage is the key to taking your performance and productivity to the next level. And, keeping true to the philosophy of getting more with Les – it’s not difficult to do.
1. Clarity is the key
The first step in creating a strategic performance advantage is to clarify what you want to accomplish. Start with a S.M.A.R.T. vision. For a vision to be powerful, it must be specific. It must be measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
A vague vision produces vague results. It’s one thing to say: “Someday I want to make a living being a consultant.” It’s quite another thing to say: “By December 31, 2010, I’ll have created XYZ and Associates, a $250,000 a year, Dallas-based consulting practice, specializing in change management for small to medium-sized companies in the medical services industry.”
In this particular example, the vision captures revenue expectations, clarifies the target market and the geographic scope of the business. Specificity is the key. Vague vision statements simply don’t have the power to move an individual or an organization forward.
2. Focus
The primary difference between vision and focus is scope. While a S.M.A.R.T. vision clarifies the big picture for improved performance and productivity, focus narrows the scope of the work to be done. As Jim Collins says in his business classic, Good to Great: “The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence. It requires clarity, not just illumination. It demands each of us to focus on what is vital – and to eliminate all of the extraneous distractions.”
We clarify our focus by setting meaningful and measurable objectives, and you won’t need many of them. The objectives would be linked directly to your vision statement. In the example of the vision above, we would want to set objectives for monthly revenue, for sales, and marketing, among others.
3. Focused Activity
Achievement is about doing, not dreaming. To that end, we want each day to count when it comes to making our vision a reality. Once our vision is clear, and meaningful objectives have been set, the next obvious step is to take actions every day that will complete stated objectives. Make sure you’re carving out roughly 90 minutes a day to work only on those activities that will accomplish your goals.
Tags: achievement, activity, business, clarity, focus, goals, performance, productivity, strategic, vision
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Monday, June 14th, 2010
I confess I’m not a fan of the local newspaper. There are too many other sources these days for the specific news I choose to follow. Having said that, there’s one publication I do enjoy reading on a regular basis – Investor’s Business Daily.
As you know, I love to focus on fundamentals. I place a high value on doing those few things that give a high return on the investment. Whether it’s time, talent or treasure, doing a few simple things on a regular basis will almost always separate you from the crowd.
My favorite section of the IBD is “Leaders & Success.” In that section of the paper, the focus is on men and women who have attained success and often remarkable achievements through – guess what – clarity, focus and hard work. I know, that last part is a drag, isn’t it?
The Leaders & Success section also presents IBD’s 10 Secrets of Success. The 10 secrets come from years of analyzing leaders and successful people from every walk of life. This extensive study revealed ten traits which, when combined, turned dreams into reality and into fantastic levels of achievement.
This week I’ll share five of the secrets and finish the list in the next edition of “Getting More With Les.” Ready? Here are the first five:
1. How You Think Is Everything:
Always think positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
2. Decide Upon Your True Dreams and Goals.
Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
3. Take Action:
Goals are nothing without action. Don’t be afraid to get started. Just do it. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
4. Never Stop Learning:
Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
5. Be Persistent And Work Hard:
Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
That’s enough to think about this week. Do yourself a favor though, give these five success secrets some deeper thought. Remember, knowledge itself isn’t power. Knowledge APPLIED is where the real power comes from.
Tags: clarity, failure, focus, goals, hard work, improvement, investment, Investors Business Daily, leaders, learn, negative, news, newspaper, persistence, positive, success, time, training
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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