Over the last few months, I’ve been hearing a common theme among my clients. They keep saying, “I have a day job and a Rock job.” At first that confused me a little bit. Then I realized that one of two things is true. One possibility is that we chose the wrong Rocks for the quarter. The second possibility is that the team member is spending most of their time on useless activities.
Running a business isn’t easy. If you’re like most business leaders, you’ve got a lot you want to accomplish.
In a recent client session, the team had an a-ha moment while we were setting priorities for the next 90 days. They were frustrated because they felt like there was never enough time in the day to get stuff done. Even though they had clear priorities for the 90-day period, things just kept coming up throughout the quarter that they felt obligated to tackle right then. This put them over their time capacity.
Most of my clients no longer use their organizational chart, replacing it with the Accountability Chart™ – a more powerful tool that clearly depicts the structural needs of the organization.
At first glance, the Accountability Chart may look like an org chart with a similar hierarchical feel, but that’s where the similarities end.
When one of my clients is working to strengthen the Process Component in their business, the ultimate goal is getting a handful of Core Processes documented, simplified and “FBA” – which stands for “followed by all.” Often, when recording a Rock or Goal on the whiteboard that includes “FBA,” I turn around to find one or more leaders looking at me skeptically.
“What’s FBA?” they’ll say, or “How is that a SMART Rock?”
Fair questions.
When I start working with a new client, one of the first questions I ask is, “What is it that keeps you from being successful? What is it you must overcome for your business to grow?” Recently, someone answered that question with, “The voices inside my head.”
I knew instantly what he was talking about. I hear the voices, too – we all do. They say things like:
“I don’t have enough experience.”
“I’m not charismatic enough.”
“I’m not a good leader.”
“My peers are all doing better than me. I must be broken.”
As a Minnesota resident, I often find myself dreaming of warm climates this time of year. The temperature hovers around freezing and I can picture the arid deserts of Arizona or the lush rainforests of Hawaii. Both climates offer respite from the Minnesota winter, but they are decidedly different from one another in flora and fauna. A cactus can’t survive in the rainforest, and ferns can’t grow in the desert.
You wouldn’t think companies are similar to plants, but like a fern in the desert, not all people will thrive in your culture.
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