Part – 5 Leverage

This is (never the) last installment of an idea we have been talking about for a week.  All dimensions of the same thing – leverage.

If I am going to do something, I want to do things that will have lasting effects into the future.

If I am serving a customer, it is not leveraged work – there will be more customers tomorrow.

If I am running a sales call, I am not leveraging anything.  There will be more sales calls to run tomorrow.

If am recruiting the right salesperson and training them well – that is some leverage.

If I recruit and train 5 at a time – that is 5X the leverage.

If I am recruiting a recruiter and a sales trainer/manager and they are using sales training I procured or write or had written, that is far more leverage.

So if I can work on a project, the right project, and do it well or have it done well (if it’s not my skill set) and the positive results (less problems, more sales, better quality, competitive advantage, more leads, etc. etc. last far into the future, I am doing leveraged work.

Work once, get paid forever.

Part 4 – Don't do lots of things.

Doing the really important things that will make a big difference to your organization tomorrow (or seeing they get done) takes time.  When you choose to do one thing, you exclude everything else.  

Don’t try to do everything.  What you don’t have time for, delegate or just stop doing.  

Playing a higher more valuable game that you are playing now is about substitution, not addition.  You are showing up and playing a different leadership role – not the one you were playing before plus.

Be ok with not doing the things you used to do.  Let go.

Part 3 – Prioritization

Leaders – There are so many tasks that need to be done and should be – but not by you.  

If you can delegate it, that is if someone else can do it, then you should not be doing it.

You do the leadership job which may include some or all of these things – 

Work on you, learn, notice, study, decide, be close friends with your financial statements, strategy, get key people in the right seats, strategic marketing decisions, pricing, create processes (with others) that deliver production quantity and quality, dole out compliments and gratitude, and smile at people.

Obviously, you don’t do all these things in a single day or week.  Prioritize.

Prioritization is the master skill of high achievers.

Part 2 – Play important games

If you spend time playing games that are not important for tomorrow, then when you win you get a little stuffed animal or a plastic trophy.

Play games that are worth your time with outsized rewards for winning.

Leaders – Pay attention TO THE RIGHT THINGS

Every leader works on stuff.  Some of us are just working on the RIGHT STUFF.

I’ve decided – this is so important I will write about it for one week.  This is day one.

Read it again – Every leader works on stuff.  Some of us are just working on the RIGHT STUFF.

SALES – Only the "yesses" count

When you are a salesperson, it doesn’t matter how many people say no to you.  They don’t count.  The only thing that matters is how many say yes.

Talk to more people with enthusiasm and confidence.  Get to more yesses.

Single handling

One productivity tip is to touch/deal with something once.  

Don’t make purgatory piles on your desk of things you will get to tomorrow or the next day (who are you kidding?  There’s stuff in those piles with 2020 dates on them!) – knock it out now.

Don’t be known as the place where ideas and things go to die.

You have it in your hand or open in your mailbox – take care of it now.  It will save time in the long run.

Delete/chuck/call/respond/read/act/delegate…

Single handling.  Done.  Next….

Voicemail full?

When I call someone and their voicemail is full, I think “This person is overwhelmed and can’t keep up”, or “This person doesn’t care”.

These ideas may or may not be true, of course, but keep your voicemail cleaned up and ready to accept incoming messages, lest someone think you don’t have your stuff together.

Delete, delete, delete…

What do you think when someone’s voice mail is full?

If it's hard, you are doing it wrong

Leaders often fall into a trap.  As the organization grows they don’t let go of chunks of their jobs and delegate.

They struggle with things they are avoiding or not doing well, and they don’t fix it.

But if it’s hard day after day, month after month, you are doing it wrong.

Crafting the leadership job for yourself is more important than crafting anyone else’s job.

Let the people that you have, and the ones you need to have help.

Make it work for your company – and for you.

Your reputation preceeds you.

Your reputation is really important for you to get people to work with you, buy from you, work for you, and want to be around you.

Everything you do counts.  People talk.  And one lapse of character today can hurt you many years down the road – and you may not even know it.  

Having a reputation as someone who is fair, gets things done, gets results, creates value and cares will make your life and business so much easier.

Remember that and act with your reputation in mind each day.