Think about it. Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Essentially that one degree, going from 211 to 212, makes all the difference between whether there’s power there or not. A few gallons of hot water doesn’t do much, but turn it into steam at 212 degrees and you can power a locomotive and pull a train down a track. Just that little bit makes a huge difference.
Look around and you’ll see the same deal. In the past 25 years of major golf tournaments, 3 strokes have made all the difference between the winner and everyone else. In many Olympic races the difference between a gold medal and a silver medal is less than half a second. In the past 10 years of Formula One racing the difference between first place and second place has been less that 1.54 seconds.
When you think of the value of an Olympic gold medal including all the sponsorships that go along with it, versus the value of a silver medal, the difference in that half a second is worth millions of dollars. It’s the same thing in golf: the difference between Tiger Woods and everyone else seems to be measured in tens of millions of dollars, but really it’s measured in a couple of strokes per game. Very small differences make huge differences in outcome. That’s really what we’re talking about.
But are you willing to put in that little bit of extra effort to bring about the huge outcome? Where does that internal motivation come from? It comes down to passion-- your desire to build a world-class business. If that’s strong enough, you will work to find the economic power of your business. You’ll work to build the product the customer wants, instead of building the product that you want. You’ll work to create that one degree of perseverance and internal motivation not to be content with your results.
Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” If you have a true desire to change and grow, you’ll start to exert that pressure for that little bit of difference for making the change. If you’re trying to maintain the status quo you won’t.
So, what are the kinds of differences that make these little changes that bring about a profound outcome? Here are two key points to target.
#1) Get crystal clear on what you want to achieve over a 3-year period.
You can think of this as the mission of your company. I once had a client in the computer industry who was starting a business from scratch. He made a commitment to himself to be Microsoft’s Partner of the Year in 3 years. Microsoft at the time had 30,000 vendor partners, so that was a pretty bold statement to make. It took my client building 3 major divisions within his company, but three years later he was standing on the stage with Bill Gates accepting Partner of the Year from Microsoft. And here’s the interesting thing: my client and his colleagues worked hard, but they didn’t work any harder than my other clients who work hard, but have businesses that haven’t changed much in the same 3 years. It is what we do with our time more than anything else. With that in mind…
#2) Pick specific 1-year objectives that will lead to your 3-year goal.
You’ll want to have 6 to 10 of these objectives, (you can also think of them as benchmarks). Make them very specific, so much so that you can graph the results week-to-week and see how you’re moving in the direction of where you want to be in 3 years. Most small businesses aren’t willing to measure themselves that clearly. It’s not harder to do, it’s just about the willingness to do it and the willingness to work at achieving the results. Using these objectives you can then create action plans you’ll follow week-to-week and month-to-month to ensure you hit your goals in that first year.
And you’re not always going to be on track. A probe going to Mars doesn’t go in a straight line. Its route varies, but the navigation system pulls it back on track. It’s a continuous zigzag line from here to there. It’s the same for people who want to travel from mediocre to world-class. Sometimes you’re ahead of schedule and sometimes you’re behind schedule and figuring out what you need to do to make up the difference.
Here’s an example. Many small business owners don’t want to face their financials. They don’t know how to read their P/L statements or understand their accounting system. In my client’s computer business, they always had an eye on the numbers. They regularly did a cash flow projection that went out 3 months and they reviewed it on a weekly basis, looking at projections of expenses and sales, and making adjustments to keep the company profitable. If they projected sales to be up, they would hire additional staff. The 3-month time frame allowed them to plan ahead. It’s not a crystal ball, but 3 months out gives you the ability to see fairly clearly. A year gets fuzzier and three years out is quite fuzzy. That’s not to say we can’t set goals, but we have to be ready to adjust our game plans.
The difference in pay off is 10 to 1 and sometimes more. I once ran a school photography company with 7 offices and 45 employees and I made ten times what the average studio owner makes. We were a regional company and the only company that could compete with us was a national player, a billion dollar organization. Was I a better photographer? No, but I took the time to learn more about marketing. I would find the best and toughest competition for the product line I wanted to do and I would go study them, even traveling when necessary. Was it hard to do? No. Did it take time and commitment? Yes.
Did my computer client work hard? Yes? Did he work harder? That’s a perceptual thing. I would say no because many small business people work 12-15 hours a day and tell you how hard they work, but they’re working differently. They won’t do the kind of work that will give them the profound outcome.
David Hilton, CEO USA, FREEDOM Business Coaching