It is sad to observe the number of businesses that play out their brief lives by morphing from day to day without any clue as to what their destination is. No wonder they go out of business, destroying hopes, and dreams in the process. These entities operate without a definite chief aim and have no well-formulated plans to attain to anything other than the illusion of the amount of money that can be made. These businesses make up that vast flotilla that have lost their rudders and drift with the tides.
The epitaph of nearly all businesses laid to rest bears the same plea to the accusation that they lived their lives without ever having crystallised their definite chief aim – guilty as charged! Unfortunately, this indictment applies equally to most departmental and line managers … so let’s not start pointing fingers!
Every motivational speaker and their aunties beat out the message that you need to set your objectives and move with passion towards the attainment of these objectives. We all know this, and have it drummed into us on a regular basis however, the motivational people always wrap their message in emotional packaging, which they deliver from their ‘pulpits’. Sure, these messages invigorate us for a short while, but the inspiration has worn off after about two weeks and at that time we feel the necessity for another ‘fix’.
What then, is the other side of this emotional coin? We, as business owners know that we invest in these motivational courses in the hope that we can boost our employees to a higher plain and that, by so doing, we will gear up the returns reflected on our bottom line (we term it ‘getting the buy-in’). Our employees are generally not stupid, they see right through us and this ‘motivation spend’ is viewed with cynicism, resulting in us wasting our money! Based upon the age-old principle that ‘action supersedes all’, we are left with only one alternative – force the issue!
Bearing in mind the fact that you must lead to have others follow, here are some of the principles the author of this post put into play:
- Define the Definite Chief Aim of the Business: This is probably one of the most difficult things to do as it requires crystal clear vision and the ability to think very accurately. You must know what you want, when you want it, why you want it and how you intend to get it.
Do not loose sight of the fact that your definite chief aim is not all about the money. The need that you satisfy is far more important than the money because the former breeds the latter.
Once clearly defined, pursue this definite chief aim with singleness of purpose. This pursuit has only one objective – success. In the business sense, success is defined as the development of power with which to get whatever you want without interfering with the rights of others. Power, in turn, is simply organised energy or effort.
The next step then is to organise the faculties of your own mind and those of your employees, and co-ordinate the whole lot behind the Definite Chief Aim. To do this:
- You must lay definite plans for the attainment of the definite chief aim. Initially these will be broad. They will change. They will be refined. Laying them down in the first instance is the critical part!
- Define the definite chief aim you wish each of your key employees to attain. You are not requesting them to adopt the definite chief aim you set for them – you are instructing them to adopt it! This aim must be in total alignment with the definite chief aim you have defined for the business.
- Instruct your staff to present to you their plans for attaining the definite chief aim you have set for them. These plans should incorporate the definite chief aim they have set for people reporting directly to them. Watch very carefully to identify those employees who exercise initiative because these people are the backbone of your business – look after them well!
- Set time limits for the attainment of the definite chief aim. Do not accept excuses or argument. The buck stops with you and if you are determined to achieve your definite chief aim you should not allow any obstacles to block your progress!
- Monitor progress on a regular basis and at random. You can only gauge consistent effort if you call on people to deliver updates of their progress on a random basis. Generally, with planned meetings/reviews, people will only complete their allotted tasks just in time. This defeats the whole object of organised effort!
- Review and adapt your plans to cater for every kink in the road you encounter along the way. People make mistakes, wrong decisions will be made, time will work against you and market conditions will change. Adapt!
- Displace those employees that refuse, or are incapable of, working with you towards the attainment of the definite chief aim. Business is hard enough without having to carry excess baggage. It is, after all, their decision as to whether they wish to work with you or against you!
Our personal lives are no different from our business lives. We all must have a definite chief aim in life, and this automatically reflects upon our business lives. The reverse applies.
Without any shadow of a doubt, unless your definite chief aim is, or becomes, an all-consuming endeavour, you will end up being toyed with mercilessly by the tides of life. Many years ago, the author of this letter put his stake in the ground and said, ‘enough is enough’. It was truly amazing to see how things suddenly began to change for the better. Scarcity was replaced by abundance in every aspect of life – including happiness.
Remember that internal misjudgements are six times more likely to cause business failure than external factors. The message is clear … keep objective help close at hand at all times, and if you don’t have it, get it without delay.
Success in business is all about getting the business fundamentals right … and the actions you take!
QUOTATION:
The best compensation for doing things is the ability to do more. This realisation is the mark of a leader because he knows that anyone can ‘start’ but only the thoroughbred will ‘finish’. (Unknown)
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