The Law Of Results

Sir Isaac Newton’s third Law of Motion states that “Every Action has an Equal and Opposite Reaction.”

Aside from physics, this principle has many similar applications in your daily life. If you smile at someone, they will invariably smile back at you. In like fashion, if you wish someone “Good morning”, they will in turn wish you a good morning as well.

This same principle is also true for business. For example, no one ever sells something until someone buys something.

The point that I’m making is that nothing ever happens in life until somebody does “something”. You can’t get heat from a fireplace until such time as you gather the wood and build a fire in it. The significant factor in the law of physics is that the “action” and opposite “reaction” are EQUAL in nature.

How many times have you heard someone say “You get out of it… What you put into it”? If you or your people only put forth a half-baked effort, then you or your organization are only going to get a half-baked result.

As you read this, you might be saying to yourself that you are taking plenty of action and that you are working your tail off. And the reality is that you probably are. I don’t question that you are working hard and that you are putting forth a great deal of concerted effort. However, I do question whether you are getting the results that you really “want”.  

According to Sir Isaac… The result (whatever it is) that you are getting is EQUAL to what it is that you are doing to generate the result. Therefore, if you are not getting the results that you want in your life and work, then it’s high time to start taking some different action.

At this juncture, I would like to introduce you to the Law of Results which states that “Taking RIGHT Action Equals RIGHT Results.” For it is the process of taking new (right) action that will ultimately bring you closer and closer to achieving the right result outcomes that you want for your life, career or business.

The problem is that most people are so busy getting from birth to death any old which way that they can, that they never find the time to determine what it is that they truly want, let alone how to get it. The reality of their lives is that they never actually do take action. They spend their entire lives allowing their circumstances to control their lives and consequently find themselves in permanent “reaction” mode. There is no “equal”. There is no life balance. There is no real satisfaction, accomplishment or meaningful achievement.

For most people and organizations it is much easier to talk about taking action than actually doing something that is planned and proactive. The reality is that talking about ideas and potential actions feels far safer than stepping up and stepping out. Actually doing something is generally construed as risky business.

There are very predictable reasons for why people shy away from taking risks. Maybe you or your people are familiar with them:

Fear. Fear is without question the biggest factor that holds people and organizations back. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of reprisal. Fear of not being good enough, smart enough and the like.

Victimization. Nothing every works out for the victim. Everybody is out to get him or her. There are too many distractions and interference for them to work effectively. The deadlines aren’t fair or realistic.

Habits. Old habits and poor work habits hold people back as well. While there may be better and more cost effective ways of doing things, these individuals simply don’t see any reason to change.

Perfectionism. After all, if you are going to do something… then do it right. Right? Very few tasks or projects literally require being perfect. If you wait for all conditions to be perfectly right, you will never get anything done.

Lack of Commitment. People want to be on the winning team, that’s a given. However, a lot of people want to hedge their bets just in case something goes wrong. Their lack of true commitment leaves them constantly straddling the fence of life. To them it only makes sense to leave their options open.

Don’t be afraid of taking some healthy and reasonable risks. Press past your fears and anything else that is holding you back. Commit to doing “something”. Better yet, commit to doing the RIGHT something!

Developing Forward provides developmental training, processes and structure to support, or even assist you in identifying and achieving the results you want for your business, career and personal life. At your convenience, call us to learn more or to schedule a confidential evaluation. 

Learn more… Do more… Become more…

 

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

How To Deal With Your Mistakes

In the game of golf they are called errant shots, while in business they are referred to as “mistakes”. Given that a considerable amount of business is conducted on the golf course, have you ever wondered why the game of business can’t be as forgiving as the game of golf?

While the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews along with the PGA Tour may provide strict enforcement of the proper rules of golf, there is also the “gentlemanly” game of golf that so many business people and weekend hackers dearly love.

After all, who wouldn’t love a “do-over” at any level of life? For the typical golfer the “Mulligan” is an accepted way of life. Heck, in charitable golf outings they will even sell them to you for $5.00 a pop. The Mulligan is a beautiful thing!

Not only does it raise money for a worthy charity, it gives you the opportunity to screw up your golf shot and still get a free do-over. Now that’s a concept that I can get on board with. Seriously, think about it. What if you could call a Mulligan at work? What would that look like?

Whether your organization is on a calendar or fiscal year, at some point your revenue and sales cycle begin anew. From one perspective you are starting over with a clean slate, in essence a brand new start. Yet, you also have the benefit of all that you have learned and experienced over the course of the past year’s business operations. Gee, how fair is that?

If your organization actually learned something in the process, it might be highly valuable and fair for you and your staff. The valid question is… what have you learned from your successes and mistakes in the course of the past year?

The first thing that you should learn is that every member of your staff, including you, is human and will therefore make mistakes. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of “when”.

The second thing that you need to recognize about mistakes is that they have parameters:

Frequency: How often do you, your organization or people make mistakes?

Magnitude: How significant are these mistakes and how far reaching is their impact?

Recurrence: How repetitive are these mistakes?

As a leader it is your chief responsibility to remove the element of “fear” from your people’s psychic response profile. When people are focused on fear, they will ultimately under-perform due to their fear of making a mistake. Fear will also result in slower reaction times and impaired result outcomes.

Mistakes and the behavioral response to them is a critical factor in the organization’s development and its ability to drive out the fear of making impactful mistakes. The optimum time to address this element of fear is before potential mistakes even occur in the first place.

It is inevitable that mistakes will be made at all levels of your organization. The critical factor is how your organization chooses to handle and address mistakes when they do occur. Your response will directly contribute to your organization’s culture and should be readily considered as a part of your organization’s big picture.

When mistakes occur, discuss what happened with the people involved. Review the potential fallout from the mistake. Develop the appropriate actions to correct it. Then identify the root cause of the mistake and create a resolution to prevent future recurrences.

Lastly, realize that “rework” isn’t a Mulligan… It’s a costly accrual of materials and man hours to re-do the work and it will ultimately kill your profitability and bottom line.

Copyright © 2013 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.