At a recent summit there was only one banner hanging on the stage. It read:
“The biggest difference between an average income and financial freedom is implementation.” — Bill Glazer
Rings true to me.
How many people do you know who just get more done, not only tasks but projects, products, events, whatever? You probably don’t know too many for the people I call “super implementers” are a rare breed.
So what distinguishes the average executive/entrepreneur who gets most things done from those with a knack for good quality and extraordinary high quantity? Here’s how I see them:
The best are vision-driven with a long range view and goals. They stay on course. You won’t find the super implementer stuck in the details, nor will you observe them hanging on to ideas that are not working or demanding too many resources. They continue until the work is complete or it proves unproductive. If that is true they cut their losses quickly. Rescuing is not how they operate with people or things, nor do they expect other to save them.
The ability to divide the projects into manageable, working modules helps them experience incremental successes. Segments are easier to keep track of. It’s simple to delegate since modules tend to be on a single, narrow topic.
They set deadlines and create measurements. It is easy to know if they are behind because they have a timetable they consult. They are not inclined to move back a date seeing delays as costly. Getting the piece out, even if it is not exactly what they imagined, is paramount.
“Super implementers” forbid distractions. They know the average executive is interrupted every three minutes and cannot imagine getting anything done in that sort of environment. Dan Kennedy takes this, to what I believe is an extreme, nevertheless he does not have an e-mail address, “makes me too accessible” and accepts only faxes that he “maybe reads” and “sometimes annotates” and “occasionally returns” once a week. He knows he is not a firefighter, an educator or your parent and therefore does not behave like one. Because of his success he can get away with it.
Rituals and systems are a big part of their lives. They have dedicated writing or reading times (most attend what Zig Zigler calls “Automobile U” — learning by listening to podcasts while driving, flying or exercising.
You never see perfection paralysis in this type. They don’t strive to be perfect, good is good enough and excellent is better but not completing or issuing is the worst.
There are benchmarks and regular testing. In fact they test most of their ideas, many times, and in many ways, before investing any significant amount of time or money.
Implementers rarely do tasks that can be completed by others. They are big on hiring support people, consultants, advisors and heavy-lifters. Hiring, highly technical people or specialists, for short periods of time, is their forte. Having regular employees is seen as a distraction and something to be avoided. They believe having others doing most of the basic work is an economy of effort and money well spent. It also permits them the type of freedom needed to think big and broad.
Do most people naturally follow these steps? No. One of the primary reasons people hire me as their coach is to help them learn how to implement. How does that work? Well, sometimes I call them on their behavior. Or we have to look to why something is not happening or seems to be too great a struggle only to find self-defeating behaviors or beliefs.
Setting goals is something most people agree is desirable. Some people actually write them; few ever follow them. Why? I think the main reason is no one is holding them to them. People go back to their natural level and comfortable ways. In coaching I hold people to their commitments.
So here is your challenge for the week:
- Choose a project, issue or dream you want to implement but so far have not.
- Run through the above list and identify which thoughts or actions you do not do or do not do well.
- List three ways in which you could alter the way you do things (such as set goals and deadline, or aim for good enough rather than perfect) to get to implementation faster and with greater ease.
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