Most people start their day with no plan and drift into the office like rudderless ships. Great leaders and managers plan for tomorrow today, which lets them be proactive and in control instead of reactive.
Are you growing? If you’re not growing, you’re dying. There’s a very specific process for how you grow. As Dr. David Viscott said, “If you cannot risk, you cannot grow. If you cannot grow, you cannot become your best. If you cannot become your best, you cannot be happy. And if you cannot be happy, what else matters?” Are you a growth-oriented person, or are you more comfortable with the status quo? If this quote resonates with you, you’re probably a growth-oriented person.
Two epidemics kill cultures: end-runs and unresolved complaining. These epidemics have a powerful cure in the form of a simple question.
Are you having quarterly conversations with all of your direct reports? One of the most powerful things you can do is to stay on the same page with your people and help to make little course corrections along the way. Above and beyond your regular weekly meetings, day-to-day interactions and annual performance reviews, I recommend you follow this practice.
All of our clients follow the practice of having a weekly Level 10 Meeting. Click here to download the Level 10 agenda. I’ve seen many companies do these meetings, and one huge mistake keeps rearing its ugly head when clients get to the Customer/Employee Headlines, and again when they get to the Issues List: They launch right in and wind up missing the real stuff.
I recently learned of a quote from Ray Kroc, the entrepreneur who took over the McDonald’s corporation in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast-food operation in the world. Ray said, “I didn’t invent the hamburger. I just took it more seriously than anyone else.”
