5. Give your best where you have your best to give.
One question I get asked often is “What’s the biggest game changer I’ve ever seen when it comes to execution excellence?” I have to say it’s always the same thing. Have people on the team spend more time in their strengths.
That includes you. If you want more out of you, then do more of what you love. Do more of what you are great at. Do more of what you can uniquely do.
The most ineffective teams I ever see are when people are all “out of position.” People are constantly working on things they aren’t good at or things that they hate. It kills their energy. In knowledge work, this is the “kiss of death.”
6. Focus on outcomes, not activities.
I can’t stress this enough. When you focus on outcomes, you find the critical paths and the shortcuts. When you focus on activities, you throw time at things but don’t necessarily achieve meaningful results.
As soon as you start asking yourself, “What’s the goal?” or “What’s the outcome?” you will quickly find yourself getting clarity on the problem. It will refocus your effort and energy in a more meaningful way. You can shave away needless activities once you identify what you want to accomplish.
7. Pick a theme or focus for the month.
A lot can happen throughout the month. One way to see the forest for the trees and rise above the noise is to set a theme or focus for the month.
Every day, you can do a little something towards the theme. Personally, I use “30-Day Improvement Sprints,” but the idea is to simply pick a theme for the month.
For example, you might pick a theme of “simplicity,” and for the entire month, you will be focused on simplifying everything you do. Simplicity is one of my favorite themes, and I like to find ways to simplify products and processes. Finding ways to simplify your process is actually one of the secrets to innovation and staying in the game.
When you find ways to innovate in your process, you can do things better, faster, and cheaper. And that’s how you keep from getting priced out of the market or losing your job to somebody else who is better, faster, and cheaper.
8. Ask better questions.
I heard a colleague remark the other day that too many people still operate under an old leadership model. The leadership model of the ’70s was command-and-control. That made sense for industrial type work or in the military. It doesn’t work well when it comes to knowledge work.
The people in the trenches are the closest to the problems, and they are also closest to the solutions. In today’s world, the key to effective leaders is asking the right questions. Inquiry is your friend.
One of my mentors uses a small set of questions to guide investments:
• Who’s the customer?
• What’s the problem?
• What’s the competition doing?
• What does success look like?
It’s simple but highly effective. One of my favorite questions to ask is, “What are you optimizing for?”
