In last week's post, I described The 20% Rule, where by improving four key business processesby just 20% each leads to results doubling.
What I love most about The 20% Rule is how it allows us to set big Stretch Goals, and then focus all our business energy on incremental, ongoing improvements to reach them.
So what does process improvement at a 20% clip look like? It is even easier than it sounds, requiring a mere 2% monthly improvement over the course of a year to more than exceed it.
So why do most of us fall short? I would point to three main reasons:
1. We Don’t Know What to Fix. Thoreau once famously said that “The unexamined life is not worth living."
Likewise, the unexamined business is not worth having - and nicely, those businesses that stay unexamined won't stick around for long anyway!
So before even figuring out what to fix, let’s just make a firm commitment to connect all of our important business processes (marketing, sales, operational, financial, etc.) too easy to measure Data Points and Metrics.
My experience is that doing just this gets us more than halfway to any process improvement goal.
2. Become a Better Fixer. Business, like sports, is a highly competitive undertaking, with many talented players and teams, reaching for the same, brass ring.
And just like athletes must constantly train and practice, so do entrepreneurs and executives need always to work on maintaining and improving their “Business Games,” with skills to rigorously develop and be great at for the 20% rule including:
● The ability to collect data (see above)
● The ability to interpret data - i.e. understanding what data represents in “Three Dimensional” business terms
● From these interpretations, the business “creativity” to arrive at plans and solutions to improve results
● The Will to Act (enough said)
3. No Egos Allowed! The 20% Rule requires us to check our egos at the door and accept which of the above we aren't great at and ask for help. Help, with an authentic desire for it coupled with an inspirational mission and persona, is easy to attract and get.
This is a well-known secret of all successful people, to understand and stay within one’s Circle of Competence. John Paul DeJoria, billionaire co-founder of the Patrón Spirits Company explained it best:
"Do what you do best and try to find others who can fill in by doing the things you are not good at. For instance, I am terrible at details — accounting especially, so I hire accountants to help me. This frees me up to focus on the things I do excel at and I can run a more efficient operation."
So let’s set big Stretch Goals, break them into 20% Attainable Goals, and then incrementally reach and exceed them via measuring what needs fixing, becoming great fixers, and getting help when, where, and as we can.
[Click Here for a complimentary consultation on how to identify and improve your four key business processes by 20% each to double results in 2016]
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Using the 20% Rule to Double Business Results
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