Focus On The Big Rocks (WT645)

Focus On The Big Rocks (WT645)

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by Shirley Dalton | 4 Nov, 2022 | Blog, Business, Mindset

WT 645 Rock

As we head towards the end of the year, most of us choose one path or the other:

  1. Start to wind down and reduce our focus on tasks, or
  2. Look towards next year and start planning for the year ahead.

This week I’ve been involved in planning for the year ahead with one of my clients.

We’ve been following a methodology which I thought I’d share with you.

You’ve most likely heard of Steven Covey’s “big rocks” analogy where he takes a container and fills it with small rocks and sand and then hasn’t got enough room for the big rocks vs filling the container with big rocks and filling up the gaps with smaller rocks and sand and water. The analogy being that the rocks are the most important tasks to be completed, in order to achieve a goal.

This methodology incorporates that analogy.

Start with the goal or outcome or end in mind. What is it that you want to achieve, by when?

Be very clear on this. Use the S.M.A.R.T. goal acronym to test the robustness of your goal, (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and to a Timeframe).

Then work out your Rocks, ie the tasks or milestones that need to be achieved by when.

Next, look to what Dr Fred Grosse calls “mooring lines” or another of my clients calls “pre-mortems”, where you identify the obstacles or things that could cause you not to achieve your goal.

Finally, identify solutions to mitigate the mooring lines. If you think about a post-mortem, investigators look to see what went wrong after the fact. With the mooring lines and pre-mortem, we are looking to see what could go wrong before the fact and prevent these as much as possible.

Here’s an example of a very common goal. Say you want to release some body weight.

Using the S.M.A.R.T. system:

Specific – release excess body weight

Measurable – 5kg

Attainable – yes

Realistic – yes

Timeframe – 3 months (depending on which dieting method you choose).

Rocks:

  1. Clean out the cupboard. Remove all junk food and chocolates and biscuits.
  2. Create a menu plan for your meals.
  3. Buy the appropriate food.
  4. Engage an accountability buddy, and so on.

Mooring Lines:

  1. It’s coming up to Christmas and party time. There’s lots of temptation.
  2. The accountability buddy doesn’t hold you accountable.

Solutions:

  1. Plan for the parties. Eat before you go. Know what you can eat at the party.
  2. Choose another accountability buddy, whom you trust to keep you on track.

Implement the plan. For some this is the hardest part. We plan, we mitigate the risks and then we just don’t put the plan into action.

Focus on the big rocks and follow the plan.

Let me know your goals, rocks, mooring lines and solutions.

What is it you want to achieve before the end of the year or for next year?

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You Can’t Supervise What You Don’t See (WT644)

You Can’t Supervise What You Don’t See (WT644)

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by Shirley Dalton | 28 Oct, 2022 | Blog, Leadership, Mindset

WT644 You Can't Supervise What You Don't See

Many years ago, when I was working with Kip McGrath and new to management, I proudly announced that I was going to engage a cleaner. Kip thought that was a great decision. What he didn’t think was so great, was my expectation that I was going to be able to supervise the cleaner to do things the way I wanted them done.

“Shirley, you can’t supervise what you don’t see”, he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“If you’re going to supervise someone, you have to be able to see what they’re doing. You have to be able to monitor their work.”

It was many years later before I fully understood this.

It doesn’t mean that you micromanage someone. It doesn’t mean that you watch them like a hawk.

What it means is that you have to be able to observe, in some way, the actions they are taking towards the outcomes you want.

It means that you have to have an understanding, of what the person is meant to be doing. You can’t outsource supervision, but you can outsource the work.

Confused?

Here’s an example:
Say you have a team of workers who are working remotely. They may be onshore or offshore. How do you monitor/supervise their work if you can’t “see” what they are doing?

Here’s the fine distinction between my example with the cleaner and your remote workers. With my cleaner, I was only able to see the outcome. Was the house clean? Unless I was in the house or had cameras installed, I wasn’t able to observe how the cleaner did the work.

If I wasn’t able to see how the cleaner did the work, I couldn’t help them improve or become more efficient, assuming I knew the best way to clean.

It’s the same for you and your team. You need to be able to observe how they work in order to help support them. Think about the salespeople in your business. I expect they have targets to reach, either number of sales or dollar value.

If you don’t know what they are doing to reach those targets, you can’t help them grow and develop or become even more efficient.

It’s the same with your workers who may now be working from home or overseas. You need to be able to see what they are doing. You can do this via systems and processes. You can do this via regular catch ups with them. Ask them how they do things. Ask them to show you. Ask them to explain their thought processes.

In my years as a consultant, I’m still amazed at how people perform tasks. I’m still intrigued that many don’t look for a better way to do things. I’m still challenged when there is a better way to do something and we meet resistance from those who don’t like and actively resist change.

You can’t supervise what you don’t see.

Your task this week is to start looking. If you want to improve things, best you know how things work first.

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I Like The Way You Think (WT643)

I Like The Way You Think (WT643)

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by Shirley Dalton | 21 Oct, 2022 | Blog, Leadership

WT 643 I like the way you think

Finally, after months of renovating, it was moving day.

I’m always a little anxious when it comes to moving.

In the past, and we’ve had many moves, we were often still packing as the removalists arrived.

This time wasn’t any different.

Scrambling to get office stuff put into boxes so the removalists could take the filing cabinets and credenza, we eventually got there and they were able to complete packing the truck.

Always an avid observer of people, I was impressed with how the head guy operated.

Upon arrival he did a walk through with Ross to assess the job. What was going? Where were the exit options? How was it going to fit on the truck?

He created a plan for which items had to be moved first and then executed the plan, all the while giving instructions to his very strong team mate.

When they arrived at the new house he took his time to assess the best place to park the truck.

The house has a very steep driveway and 14 stairs to the upper level.

He had knocked on the neighbour’s door to see if they would mind if he parked over their driveway. The neighbours didn’t answer. I suggested it would be okay, despite having ignored their moving tips of letting the neighbours know to expect the removalists.

He decided to turn the truck around, facing the opposite direction to the traffic to enable him to position a sideways ramp from the truck to halfway up the driveway. This eliminated the steepest part.

Impressive. I mentioned to Ross how much I liked the way he thought about things.

Another walk through of the destination house, another plan, and off they went, efficiently and effectively dispatching the furniture and they were careful too.

Often with removalists, there doesn’t seem to be a great care factor for the walls etc. in their haste to get things done, nor does there seem to be a plan other than, put it in the truck, take it out of the truck.

This guy was refreshingly different.

He was a thinker and thankfully for us, was able to work out a plan to get the lounge over the front railing onto the verandah on the second story. He was tall, but not that tall to lift a 3 seater lounge over his head from the driveway. He asked Ross to drive Harry HiLux up to driveway and he would stand on the back of Harry and lift the lounge. OMG!

Next challenge was the sliding door didn’t want to come out to allow extra room. Once the lounge was on the verandah, it had to go in that way, so it was up to very strong team mate to get the door out. Lounge delivered, no damage to the lounge, door or walls. Thank you so much.

So what’s the point of this week’s thought?

Are you a thinker or a bull at a gate?

Do you take time to work out what you have to do before jumping into doing it?

How about your team?

Are they helping or hindering your company’s reputation?

If I was working with you and your team would I be reflecting that I like the way you think?

P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

When You Have The Right Tools (WT642)

When You Have The Right Tools (WT642)

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by Shirley Dalton | 14 Oct, 2022 | Blog, Mindset

WT 642 When you have the right tools

This week’s thought might seem a little simple and mundane and yet there is a deeper message here.

We engaged a repair man to fix the windows in our new house.

With some brute force from Ross to get them open and a large screwdriver or pole to hold them open, I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed to clean, what I estimate was 40 years of gunk and grime. Yuk. Double yuk.

I didn’t want the repairer to spread all that debris over the floor.

It took me weeks to systematically get them all cleaned and it was only last weekend that I figured out a better method for cleaning them.

Now you might ask, “Why didn’t I engage a professional window cleaner to clean them?”.

Two reasons:

1.      I didn’t expect they would take as long as they did to clean, and

2.      The renovation budget was way over maxed out, and

3.      I just thought of number 3, we were out of time to organise a third party.

For the first half of the windows, I struggled to scrub the build up of grime off the frames. I applied as much pressure as I could and went over and over and over the frames and they hardly looked any cleaner. Very frustrating.

So, as often happens, when things aren’t working out how we want, we ask “How can I do this better? Is there an easier way? There has to be a better way to do this?”

I looked in my cupboard. I found a cream cleanser and some Gumption. I decided to give the cream cleanser a go.

OMG! This stuff glided on and off. It wasn’t perfect but it was so much better than the earlier results I had achieved.

Not only was it quicker, it also increased my enthusiasm and motivation to get the rest of the windows cleaned.

When you have the right tools, the job is easier, gets done quicker with better results and is more motivating.

Now to the main point. How long do you struggle with something before you finally go looking for a better way?

How often do you “go it alone” without asking for advice from others who may have more knowledge or experience than you?

Your task this week is to look at your list of jobs and choose one that you’re struggling with or frustrated by the lack of results and send your brain looking for the answer to the question, “what’s a better way to do this?”

Try it. Your brain is a goal achieving machine. It must answer any questions you ask it. So ask better questions and do it quicker.

It’s so much easier and so much more rewarding when you have the right tools.

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Some Will. Some Won’t. Next. (WT641)

Some Will. Some Won’t. Next. (WT641)

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by Shirley Dalton | 7 Oct, 2022 | Blog, Mindset

WT 641 Some will, some won't, next

“Some will. Some won’t. Next” was a saying I learnt from Bob Johnston, international sales trainer.

Bob’s intention was to help salespeople to not take it personally when potential customers said “No”.

When you think about it, it’s actually quite logical. Some will want your service or product and some people won’t want it. Some won’t want it now and some won’t want it ever. For those who don’t want it ever, move on to the Next potential customer.

This affirmation not only helps with mindset, it also helps with productivity because the salesperson doesn’t waste time or energy following up someone who doesn’t want the product or service and the potential customer doesn’t feel harassed into buying something.

This leads to my next point. It’s okay to say “No”. In fact, salespeople prefer you to say “No” if you don’t want it because it frees them up to move on.

I appreciate it when people say “No thankyou” to me. I don’t take it personally. They have their reasons. I accept their decision.

It sends me bananas (frustrates me) when I take the time to follow-up with people and my calls aren’t returned. It means I’ve either got to invest more time to follow-up, just in case they do want the product or service or I make the decision myself that they don’t want it and move on. The latter decision could well be an incorrect decision because they may want the product or service at a later date. Who knows?

Recently Ross and I have requested quite a number of quotes from various trades as we’ve renovated the house. We always make it a point to let people know when we’ve decided to go with another supplier.

Your mission this week is to be assertive. If you have decided you don’t want to purchase something, or you’ve chosen a different supplier, please speak up. The salesperson will appreciate it.

They know, Some Will. Some Won’t and they can move on to Next.

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