FOCUS. …if you want to perform and execute

Ask Yourself – Can I Deliver on my Promises? Can I Execute?

In this article, I will share my 3-step personal methodology to focus, prioritize and deliver performance. The ultimate value of this strategy for you, is that you will learn how to execute your projects by using your own skills to the maximum on your journey to success.

Last year, I moved from USA to Germany to a new and exciting role related to eCommerce. I was faced with a seemingly endless must-do-list – finalizing everything in the US, settling into my new job in a new country, learning the local cultural dynamics: both at work and outside; emigration related activities; finding a place to live, new car, new gym, etc. All this on top of my prior major commitment: My PhD dissertation on innovation within teams.

Fortunately, I have developed a simple methodology, that provides me with the discipline to both focus and prioritize execution. Had I not used this simple approach, the relocation could well have become a stressful venture……. but, it is not so and I am enjoying life like never before. Why? I attribute this success to my ability to prioritize and focus; that’s how six months later I am now far into my journey and have accomplished all the above – new job, dissertation, settled in, learning a new language, while finding the time to pursue my passion of staying fit and much more.

FOCUS is my favorite trait: it goes a long way when coupled with the simple tool that I have developed and perfected over the years. The methodology is simple:

I consider that there are four types of initiatives, in which we all invest our energy at any given time. If we get these right, we win. If we get them wrong, we spin our wheels and fall further and further behind, disillusionment follows, leading to a loss of drive and we lose even more focus as we now try to do too many things at once, with the hope that this will allow us to get something accomplished.

My 3 Step Methodology To Success: 

Step 1:

Spend time understanding your goals in life: Short Term, Mid-Term and Long Term. 

To many this may seem a bit far-fetched and philosophical, but it really isn’t. You need to understand your goals and the bigger picture so that your actions are aligned.

Important. You need to: Believe in your goals. Believe that you can accomplish them. Believe that they are worth the effort.

 Step 2:

Make a list of all the projects/ideas/initiatives that you are currently executing or considering and see how they fit against your goals in Step 1.

 For each project, ask yourself two simple questions:

1. Once I have successfully executed it, what impact will it have on my ability to achieve my goals?
2. What are the required resources? Do not get too academic: Focus on the time needed, for time is what you cannot negotiate up or down, as is the case with budgets – time moves on and moves on quickly. Think well prior to any commitments and be realistic.

Keep in mind that all the projects may be solid and good, but you need to actually EXECUTE, for them to matter. FOCUS on what is important.

Step 3:

Use the Four Quadrant Focus Grid below (my FQFG?).

Every new idea or project that lands on your list, should be run against your Focus Grid and execute on accordingly. Within this four-quadrant grid, you should list your projects/ideas defined in Step 2.

Don’t Sidetrack Yourself – Define Your Priorities & Stick to Them!

Instructions:

1. Don’t Do. Resource Consuming, Low Impact: Time consuming projects/ideas that would have little impact or no impact at all on achieving your goals. Dump these projects NOW and invest the energy you save into more productive activities. For example, spending hours on perfecting the design of a presentation, that completely misses the message that you wanted to deliver.

2. Outsource. Medium Resource Consuming, Medium Impact: Easy-to-execute projects/ideas that will not significantly impact your success. Execute these on your own if you want, but they are not important enough to be a strategic priority. For example, if you are a manufacturer, perhaps buying a freight-forwarding company is not that necessary, why not focus on striking a mutually beneficial partnership with a reliable 3rd party? Other example, if you need to create a webpage, your best solution is to utilize a template service (e.g., WebPress, Shopify, SquareSpaces, etc.) instead of wasting time developing it from scratch on your own. Outsource these projects and invest the energy you save into more productive “do first” activities, according to your expertise.

3. Do First. Low Resources Consuming, High Impact: Easy-to-execute ideas with a huge impact. Execute those NOW! For example, if you are in the chemical or oil industry, consider toll blending some of the low impact and low volume products at a 3rd party instead of strangling your own resources on them. Another example of focal projects could be to consider re-negotiating some old contracts with your suppliers to gain higher value for your business. In the context of the 80-20 rule, think of these as the ones that deliver 80% of the result with 20% of your time. Do these first.

4. Study. Unknown Resource Consuming/Unknown Impact: “Out of this World” or simply crazy ideas for the “as of today” time frame. For example, if you work for an OEM within a construction industry and you have been dreaming about an UBER kind of app for your end-users? Or if you are part of the chemical industry, perhaps virtual reality services for your customers has been on your radar for a while?

You know these are game changers, paradigm shifters and out of the box ideas. The challenge here is that most big companies tend to discard these ideas, and that’s how “start-ups” are often born. But please don’t kill these ideas. It well can be that in the future, these ideas will be “hot” and you will get buy-in. In the meanwhile, spend a specific time (e.g., in form of a workshop) on figuring out how to make these feasible with similar minded team members. Also utilize internal forums, which are common these days in companies such as shark tanks and innovation circles to present them and get feedback; it might not be as “crazy” an idea as you are imagining and using these forums may be a way to get your management’s buy-in.

My biggest passion is to help empower people to perform at their highest potential. I want to thank you for reading this article, but more so, my 14,000 plus followers who have been instrumental in my own success; I am extremely grateful for your time and for the lessons you all have been sharing with me on LinkedIn. I truly hope my methodology will help you too. Good luck with your projects!

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 Postscript:

Don’t Forget: Your legacy is being Written by Yourself!

You must make the right decisions – you must know and execute on your priorities! Regardless of industry or private life, there is only one thing that inhibits the best of intentions and ideas – the lack of FOCUS and no one is perfect: From time to time, my focus goes south too, but I remind myself daily and bring it back: a failure is not a failure, unless I decide it is so…I do my best to stay patient and committed to my FOCUS.

DISCLAIMER

Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer. Information presented is publicly available.

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Thank you for reading my post! Here, at LinkedIn, I regularly write about sales excellence, performance psychology and lubricants. If you would like to read my regular posts - please click 'Follow' and/or send me a LinkedIn invite. Don't forget to click here and subscribe to my monthly updates.

Some other posts that I have written:

PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGY

What Makes A True Leader: One Deep Perspective

Dream Big: It Is Not Over Until You Win

Driving Successful Post-Merger Integration (PMI)

If I Knew What You Know: 5 Q & A on Knowledge Transfer

LUBRICANTS

Selling Grease: Top 4 Applications for Polyurea Greases

The Best Kept Secret For Sales Success When Selling Lubricants Globally

Grease Color Challenge Solved: 2 Factors You Need to Know

Fluids - The Lifeblood That Keeps Transmissions De-Stressed

SALES EXCELLENCE

Big Hero Sales Blitz (Three Key Principles of Instant Sales Increase)

Art of Global Sales: The Cultural Practices

Long Cycle Sales Explained

Let’s Bring Agility to the Chemical Industry Ordering Process

How to Turn Your Customers into Your Salesforce: 4 Effective Tactics

Sincere Regards,

Yulia Reinhardt