The three enemies of speed are a lack of clarity, a lack of focus, and a lack of execution. He asked the contractors to think about how clear they are about what they need to do with their businesses for the next year, how focused they are on the right things and how well they are really taking action to get those right things done.
It’s easy to get sucked into tasks that don’t produce results, many of which involve doing something that somebody else should be doing.
To maintain focus, Jeary recommended that contractors put together a list of measurements or metrics, say, 10 things that they need to track every day.
Jeary urged the contractors to think about their thinking because our thinking is based on our beliefs. Our parents, our peers, or the things we learned in school formed our beliefs. Our beliefs filter the way we think. They can create blind spots. And beliefs determine results. To get around the blind spots, he recommended that contractors turn to a mentor, a business coach, a trusted colleague, and use resources like business books, videos, and audio recordings. He noted that while business books can be expensive, most of the authors have recorded YouTube videos with their content that’s available for free. Watch business videos for five minutes a day, he said.
Contractors should try to look at situations from multiples perspectives. For example, visualize what your banker wants, then give it to him. He’ll probably give you money.
Add another 15 minutes a week of strategic thinking, he urged, to focus in on the best use of your time.
Strategic IQ matters. “Without vision you’re just traveling but rarely arriving,” Jeary said. He advocates using “vision boards,” actual physical boards on which you post pictures or text about what you want to be or become. The visual reminder of what you’re aiming for brings clarity.
Clarity pulls us toward the results that we want and acts as a filter so we make better choices. Focus helps us push aside distractions such as paperwork or email so we can figure out where we are and where we want to go. What do you want to take action on now?
Finally, do it now, he urged. Everyone has a tendency to procrastinate. He was thinking about writing a book titled, Do It Later: The Ultimate Guide For Losers, but he didn’t get around to it.
Connect with me on Twitter @bobmader