What's wrong with rear window driving?

What could go wrong?

Driving a car is a daily routine for many of us, but it's important to ensure our safety and reach our destinations smoothly. To accomplish this, we need to be equipped with the necessary information. Inside our vehicles, we have various features designed to aid us, including a front windshield, rear window, rear and side mirrors, and a dashboard with instruments. These components provide valuable visual feedback about our surroundings and the car's performance. However, it's crucial to prioritize our attention wisely. Common sense suggests that approximately 95% of our time on the road should be dedicated to looking ahead, focusing on the path ahead and potential obstacles or hazards. The remaining 5% of our attention should be allocated to monitoring what's happening behind us. This distribution allows us to stay aware of our surroundings while maintaining a forward-focused mindset.

Interestingly, the concept of front and rear views extends beyond driving. In the business world, for instance, it's common for business owners to analyze monthly bank statements to gain insights into their financial situation and wonder about the factors influencing their success or challenges. This perspective can be likened to the rear window view, providing a limited understanding of the present through only looking at the past. However, it's essential for businesses to embrace a more comprehensive approach, considering real-time data and predictive analytics to make informed decisions and anticipate future trends. By adopting a forward-looking mindset, organizations can proactively navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and drive sustainable growth.

In both driving and business, recognizing the importance of a forward-focused outlook enables us to gather the necessary information, make better decisions, and reach our intended destinations safely and successfully.

Where are we going??Are we lost?

Looking out the rear window just shows us where we have been, not where we are going.

Recently, I was working with a team who had run into a major issue: revenue had crashed. Revenue is a great piece of data to look at, but it is a rear-view, lagging indicator.

The reality of the situation was that they had front windshield, leading data in front of them that they had not paid attention to until it was too late. It turns out that sales efforts were missing the mark, with certain key weekly activities not being attended to.

The discipline and accountability of using EOS brings the leadership team together on a weekly basis, and looking at data is a key part of that weekly check in. However, they had missed a key part of that discipline: actually seeing the data in front of them.

“If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.”

― Yogi Berra

What's wrong with looking back?

When navigating through life, it is crucial to prioritize our focus wisely. Just like driving a car, we should allocate our attention appropriately to maximize our effectiveness. The majority of our time should be spent looking through the windshield, as these are the leading indicators that lie ahead. By focusing on what lies in front of us, we can anticipate and respond proactively to upcoming challenges and opportunities. Additionally, we should devote a significant amount of our attention to the dashboard, which provides real-time information about the present state of our endeavors. Monitoring the dashboard allows us to gauge our progress, make necessary adjustments, and stay on track towards our goals.

In other words: How do you truly know if you are having a great week?

In line with these principles, I impart valuable skills and tools to my clients in EOS.?I emphasize the importance of assigning everyone in the company a measurable number that directly aligns their daily activities with the overarching company goals. This numerical connection empowers individuals to understand the impact of their actions and make informed, forward-looking, decisions that contribute to the collective success of the organization.?

Looking forward instead

There are two pieces of data that are important in driving:

• How fast are we going? i.e speedometer
• How far can we go? i.e gas gauge

Take a moment and reflect: what is the equivalent of your speed and gas in the below areas of your business?

• Marketing
• Sales
• Making your product
• Delivering your service
• Tracking your finances

Steps to take right now

Here's some simple actions you can take right now:

• Decide on a set of weekly activities that are necessary to move you towards your goals.
• Decide upon a target for each of those activities (i.e how many times do we need to be doing this each week?)
• Decide who's accountable for getting these activities done each week.
• Put this information into a spreadsheet and track it.
• Don't fall into the trap of ignoring what the data is telling you.

After you have done these steps, are you still finding that you are having trouble settling on that right set of measurables? Or, are your people still not actually doing the activities they need to do each week???

If you are experiencing these issues, I can help!