How to be Results Focused

I closed my previous article with these words:

“Today, I would like to invite you to make the same decision. I want you to commit 100% to learning the business skills to create a strong product and service (operations), high top line sales (marketing), efficiency (finance), and joy in helping others grow (leadership).”

Making a decision is always first. And along with that decision should be a 100% commitment.

But there is one more thing that sets the top 1% aside from the rest of the pack. Not just in our industry, but in every industry. In every part of life.

It is to be “Results Focused.”

You see, most people work in the “time and effort economy.” The majority of people believe that the more time or effort is put forth, the more progress is made. 

Entrepreneurs, at least the successful ones, know that is not the case. In contrast, successful entrepreneurs know that most significant progress is made by achieving results. And teaching your team to be results focused too. You want to work in the “results economy.”

This is a tall order when someone on your team is paid by the hour. When the clock and schedule dictate when the day starts and when the day ends. And where effort is rewarded with a feeling of accomplishment. Not to mention scores of emails to respond to, calls from clients, and needy team members looking for your attention.

Achieving results takes action. A commitment to taking rigorous action towards the results you seek.

Forget the clock. The amount of time doesn’t matter.

Forget the schedule. We tend to fill up the time we have allotted for a task regardless.

Forget the effort. Effort in the wrong direction will yield little to no results.

If you want to be in the top 1% of our industry, your focus and your team’s focus must completely be on results.

As the leader, you decide on the desired results, and you figure out the fastest and best route to get you from where you are to where you want to be. And you inspire your team to take that route.

But how do you and your team stay on the path and not zig-zag your way to your desired results?

One word. FOCUS.

This is the single most important word almost every billionaire says when they speak of their success.

Focus is waking up and putting your effort into one or two things instead of ten. When you are a firefighter, and work on ten things in a day, you inevitably become a dabbler.

And dabblers zig-zag their way to success.

If there are ten things to do today, which there almost always are, there are two of those ten things that will give you 80% of the results you desire. Do those first.

There’s that 80/20 Principle popping up again.

Your job is to learn to pick the two things that will give you the 80%, and don’t get distracted by the other eight things that will only give you 20% of the results you desire.

Before I give you the tactics, metrics to track, strategies, and mindset to get to the top 1%, this article might be the most important of everything I can tell you.

Long ago, I wish someone had told me about being Results Focused. It would have saved me a lot of time. And a lot of misguided effort.

Print this article and reference it often.

We covered a lot:

Make a decision

Commit 100%

Avoid the time and effort economy

Work in the results economy

Take rigorous action

Inspire your team to be results-oriented

Focus

Choose the two most important things to take action on each day

And do it

Buckle up. Next week, we are off to the races as we dive into Operations, Marketing, Finance, and Leadership. These are the skills you must master to be in the top 1%.

Have a great week, my friend-

Dave

Once you make this decision with 100% commitment, next week I will give you the roadmap to follow to learn these critical business skills.

See you then!