You hear it all the time in organizations, especially when the economy is tanking, or a bad earnings report comes out, or the CEO demands his direct reports generate better results. “We need to be more active in the market place!”

”

For example, one of my clients reacted to the recession by asking each of its senior executives to make 5 new contacts a week with the goal of closing at least 1 new major account for the quarter.  To put this in context – up to the recession – this company had little concern for how to win business.  In fact, the organization had been doing quite well for over 10 years to the point it was having a hard time keeping up with demand.  So most of the executives they were telling to engage in more business development had not had to do so for much of their careers.  Yet, now they are being asked, from on high, to go out and market, sell and network.  They were not asked to discuss the existing state of the business, their ideas for growing the business were not requested, and there was no discussion around what support they needed to succeed in their business development efforts.   You might not be surprised that their efforts generated marginal results at best.

At its core, there is nothing wrong with encouraging more activity and yes we need to make more contacts so that we can develop more relationships so that they turn into more sales.  I get that.  However, just pushing for more activity misses the point of effectively engaging the market place or, for that matter, to succeed at any endeavor.  While action is important – the question you must ask yourself is how do we ensure that such activity actually generates results?

The formula for achieving leveraged or inspired action is as follows:

In short, there needs to be some reflection and interaction around what we want to build, create, shift as well as doing gaining an aligned view of the current reality.   It is interesting that senior executives deal with challenges much like any human being.  They tend to focus on WHAT THEY DON’T WANT versus WHAT THEY DO WANT.  For example, as the recession hit many of my clients were focusing on how to survive the recession versus how to support their customers through the recession.  They lost mission focus and went to survival focus.  Now in some cases an organization must do this because they face real challenges.  Yet, the majority of my clients were living in fear this would happen – not considering their current state along with the long term view.

The first step of the model above requires the senior team to ask “How do we want to face this challenge and how can we use it to our advantage to strengthen our organization’s position and most support our client base?”   This leads to a more proactive vision, mission and set of goals. This is also a time to be brutally honest about the current reality being faced and to uncover any limiting beliefs or emotions that are driving the action forward.  As I mentioned above, in my view, any fear that is experienced is usually not warranted.  That being said, you don’t know that unless you can honestly assess the current reality.

The second step of the model has to do with engaging your direct reports around the vision as well as the challenge.  The goal here is to both enrich the thought process around how do we accomplish the vision and it also helps to instill ownership of the vision and the challenges by those you engage.  This is much different than pushing the edict down to “be active” in some way.

The third step has to do with energizing people. It is akin to filling up the gas tank in your car for a long trip.  Without the fuel you are not going to get far.  To get the most from those who are out there in the market place – you must be able to help them tap into whats in it for them.  When that is present people will engage in activity – even if it is a bit uncomfortable – because they understand the value for the organization AND THEM.   Here is where another mistake is made.  Sometimes senior leadership feels – “they are in this position for a reason – they should not have to be motivated to achieve our goals.”  This completely misses the point!  The question is do you want a 4 cylinder car or one running on 8 or more cylinders.  The more you energize people and engage their passion – the more they will accomplish.

The fourth and fifth steps can be taken together.  At this stage we are ready to act in a powerful way.  If the first few steps were done well – you won’t need to lay out elaborate activity goals.  You can but it is unnecessary – people who are engaged and energized will act consistent with the vision.  Plus you have the fifth step to ensure the activity is working to meet the vision and goals.  Taking time to take stock of progress and work through the process again will ensure more ownership, engagement, energy and effective actions.

Finally, another concern I get about this model is – “I can see your point but do we have the time to do this?“  I will ask a question back to you on that one.  You have two choices.  Door number one – accept a more narrow band of successful actions.  Door number two – you can take more time upfront time in order to ensure you will multiply your results many times over.  Which door do you choose?  Either choice is fine but one leads to what you really care about most – the other does not.

In my last entry I spoke about the power of passion and its importance in succeeding in business and as a leader.  As I said, at some level we all resonate with the power of passion.  Yet, few who talk about it – explain how it is we tap into what we are passionate about.  If this is something you want to explore more deeply then it is time to ask yourself some deeper questions.  Yet, these questions are not an intellectual brainstorming exercise.  Actually it is a “heartstorming” exercise that demands you give yourself the time and space to be truly honest with yourself.

I encourage you to take this exercise seriously and create the space to do it.  Find a place to engage this where you feel the most expanded.  It could be a favorite room in your home, your favorite coffee shop or outdoor bistro, a place outdoors that you relish, etc.  The key is to be some place that allows you to be free from interruptions and that inspires you.  I find that putting pen to paper is more powerful than typing your responses out on a computer – it just makes the experience more visceral.   You can also do this in a few reflective sessions.  The key is to do what ever works that allows you to reveal what you care about most.  In any event, do what ever you must that will allow this to work for you.  Here are the questions to consider:

• If I had no limitations or barriers and money were no object, what do I most want to create through my work and expression as a leader?

Again, do not answer this as a mental exercise… make it an exercise of the heart.

• Now once you have generated your list – for each item ask – What do each of these things give me or what is most important about these things?

What you are looking for in your answers are not material goods or something external to yourself.  You are evaluating the emotional experience you are seeking!  Are you seeking recognition, accomplishment, freedom, security, etc.?  Why do I say this? Because in the end you evaluate your experience based on how you feel – period.  For example, we don’t want money for the sake of having pieces of paper in our wallets or an amount in the bank.  Certainly that is nice but it is what that GIVES US that we really want.  So do yourself a favor and let yourself feel what you want.

• Now once you have boiled down the experience you most want to have  – go back and rank order those experiences by following this process:
  • First, create a list of those emotional states you are looking to experience on a daily basis and ask yourself – how much does this resonate for me on a scale from 0 – 100%.
  • Second, once you rate the items – the rank ordering should become obvious.

In my view, anything at 90% or above is something you are passionate about.  Anything between 60 and 80% might be yet you need to ask yourself – “What would have to happen for this to be at 90% or above?”  For example, you may find that you really want it but don’t believe it is possible.  The question is if there were no obstacles or money was not an issue or you could have life/work be any way you wanted it to be – would these rank higher?  Finally, if something does not make 60% – it is likely not something you are very passionate about and I suggest you drop it so you can focus on what really juices you!

Once you have done this exercise you will have a list of your passions.  Now to activate this in your life and at work you need to develop your vision for how you would like to see this unfold and then keep your attention on this each and every day.  If you are passionate about it – that will be easy.  The key is not to turn away from it – life is too short!  From this list you can develop your mission statement and commit to live from it each day!  If you want to grow your business, be more successful in your current position and make a bigger impact – the only way to do it is through your passion.  Therefore I invite you to release it!

Believe it or not I get this question a lot!  It actually amazes me.  Quite frankly, passion has EVERYTHING to do with it.  Yes, it takes intelligence, drive, and a focus on results to succeed.  Yet, what is the fuel that drives all of this? It is passion or even more candidly – love for what you do and why you do it.  Anyone who has ever created something of value is driven from passion/love around what they do.  Whether it is passion for an idea, acknowledgment, making a difference, wealth, etc. – passion is passion!

Again, many resonate with this idea of passion but then ask but is there a return on investment from engaging it – is it not better for me to focus on my business model?   Well first there is a huge return on investment that comes from fully engaging your passion because the more you are connected to it the more bandwidth you have to succeed.   The more you are connected to it – the bigger your ideas, the better you will apply your business model, the more opportunities you attract and the more courage you will have to break through barriers that will stop most people.

Now the caveat is – at first – really connecting to your passion can be scary because the more traditional approach in business is to mute our passion.  When my clients first unveil their passion – they can become concerned it is too out there or unrealistic.  Yet, in every case – yes EVERY CASE – when my clients or anyone I know decides to live from this place – they experience far more success, freedom and fulfillment as well as far less stress and struggle.

My guess is if you have read this far – that this all resonates.  You may be secretively living from this place or feel a sense of power when you think about working and living from this place.  I also think this is not new news.  Many speakers and coaches talk about engaging your passion but how do you discover what it is?  In my next entry I will give you the fundamental questions and practices you need to do to fully engage your passion on a daily basis.  Come back in two days and the exercise will be posted.

I love this short video by Dan Heath on creating an empowering mission statement.  Dan is the co-author of “Made to Stick” and this short piece offers some sound advice!

Enjoy: