Can you relate? I was driving through town recently when a motorcycle cop pulled behind me and turned on his lights. Much to my dismay, my tags were expired and it was his duty to let me know…and write me a ticket. I had not received a reminder about my tags renewal and it just never occurred to me the expiration date had passed.
Needless to say, my schedule changed that day immediately. I drove straight to the emissions testing center then to the county clerk’s office to get my new tags. Not how I had planned to spend part of my day but the sense of urgency – and the fear of a second ticket – motivated my actions.
That one event created a sense of urgency for me that day. What about your team or business? What are the items that create a sense of urgency for you? In today’s fast-paced and competitive marketplace leaders must be disciplined to act on the right things at the right time. Sustaining your team’s competitive advantage should always remain a priority. Consider the following checklist to prioritize your team’s success.
- Know who your target customer is. A laser-focused definition will allow you to say yes to the actions that drive the greatest profitability and no to the good but not great ideas.
- Fix your target customers’ biggest complaint. Ask them what they think and address their biggest irritant in doing business with you. Fix that and you will gain loyal fans.
- Reduce the red tape. Make it easy for employees to do whatever it takes to provice amazing service to your customers. It’s a cascading effect – customers get frustrated when it’s hard to do business with you. Your employes get fatigued too.
- Know your key success indicators. What are your 2 or 3 major metrics for the business? Talk about them everyday and ensure every member of your teams knows his/her part to impact those numbers.
- Fix your employees’ biggest complaint. Ask them what they think and address the biggest irritant in working with you or the business. Address that and you will create employees who will do anything for you.
- Move poor performers up or out. Know the weak links on your team. Determine if the problem is a skill gap or their choice. Address it quickly. Your team won’t keep taking up their slack forever. And you can’t afford a weak link.
- Communicate early and often. Never assume your team knows what is going on. Over communicate expectations, feedback and celebrations. It’s the secret ingredient of amazing teams. You will never be accused of communicated too much.
Urgent actions create energy and momentum. What if every member of your team focused on these seven items? How different would your business be? Take it from me. Don’t wait on the blue lights of the law to tell you something’s not working. Start today. Start now. And….go!