“Don’t make the process harder than it is.“
Jack Welch
Is the value you provide based on the quantity of the words that you use? In everything you do are you adding value or adding complexity?
Define what needs to be done. Clearly establish the goal. Then do everything within your power to eliminate anything that gets in the way. True leadership is demonstrated through clarification and simplification.
Success isn’t about adding more, it is about taking away what doesn’t matter…
“Change before you have to.”
Jack Welch
Here is a simple recipe for change. Take out a piece of paper. Ask yourself these questions.
“WHAT is the one thing I NEED to change in my life?” Write that down at the top of the page and circle it.
Now answer this question. “WHY is this change important and necessary?” Write this down in as few words as possible and underline it. Heck, grab a highlighter and and really make this line stand out. This is the most important line on the page.
Now answer this question. “HOW will I do next to make that change a reality?” Write down those answers, no more than 3 things. Rank them based on what you can do FIRST.
Now for the hard part. DO the things you wrote down. Start every day looking at your desired and needed change, remind yourself why it is important and then DO the action. When you have completed your next task mark it off and add one more. Never more than three things on your list and you only focus on the next one. As you get better and better and build momentum then you will look forward to checking off the list and seeing how much you have accomplished.
For example if your “need” is to lose 10 pounds then that is what you write at the top
WHAT = Lose 10 pounds by 12/1/19
WHY = To have a healthy body and more energy for my family
HOW = (1) Exercise 45 minutes today before lunch. (2) Track my foods/meals in an App like MyFitnesspal (3) Do not take in any calories after 7:00 PM.
DO = Check these off through the day and then build a new list tomorrow.
Change doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen simply because you want it to. Change happens when you clearly articulate what it is that you want to change. Why that change is important. How you are going to make that change happen by focusing on what to do next. Then you have to do the hard part. EXECUTE! No excuses, no complaints, no justifications. Just do it.
There are tons of books, apps, systems and methods you can use to track and manage change. I use several of them in combination but the MOST IMPORTANT factor is to clearly articulate WHAT you want to change and WHY that change is important to you. That is why it is important to revisit this daily. Never lose sight of your goal and why it is important. That will be the motivation you need to EXECUTE. W/W/H/D = CHANGE
“The 3S’s of winning in business are speed, simplicity and self-confidence.”
Jack Welch
I love this! When you think about it these are mutually dependent variables. You just can’t have one without a good dose of the other.
In today’s world speed is more critical than ever and you just can’t be fast if you allow complication to creep in to your processes or thinking. Do some problems require complicated solutions? Of course. But the essence of creating speed is simplicity, and you simply can’t be fast to market, fast to grow, fast to learn, if complexity rules the day. If you want to be fast, you have to find ways to keep things simple. Period. Simplicity is the great enabler of speed.
Self-confidence (never to be mistaken for arrogance or high ego) enables speed and simplicity through decisive action and the ability to learn and adjust. All too often we measure our own self-worth not on the results, but on the complexity of whatever solution we have created for a given problem. Self-confidence is knowing that simple is good and that just because we are keeping things simple it is NOT an indication of low-value or low worth.
The road to mediocrity and irrelevance is paved with slow and complicated projects/programs/products. I can’t imagine that much self-confidence was created through these failures…
“If change is happening on the outside faster than on the inside the end is in sight.”
Jack Welch
We live in a world of constant change. The world has always been like this but the rate of change today is faster than ever before. This is the age of disruption and every long held belief about the way the world operates is being reviewed and evolved.
This applies to the external world of course, the context that Jack was speaking on when he coined this phrase, but it applies equally well to our own individual growth as contributors and leaders. To remain relevant we must intentionally growing our skills, talents, and capabilities, in a constant and disciplined manner. If we don’t then our ability to impact those around us and achieve our goals is constantly diminishing.
Think of it like two cars on the highway where one car is going 75 MPH and the second car is going 60 MPH. The first car is continually putting more distance between the two drivers. After an hour it is only 15 miles, but after two hours, 30 miles, three hours 45 miles, etc.
That’s our world today. Someone somewhere is finding a way to go faster. What are you doing to grow your expertise, skills, talents and capabilities to go faster and close the gap? How are you working to ensure that the end isn’t near?