Are you prioritizing preparation?

The commonality in life and business has fascinated me since I started in my career working in sales, going door to door and store to store. There’s constant overlap in how to prepare for the weeks and days ahead, whether it’s in our personal lives or our work lives, which are more blended than ever before.

For me, some of my most valuable time is the physical time I spend in meetings, working on topics that are either too complex for email or better suited for in-person dialogue. (The same of course is true when it comes to family.) Planning out the right time to meet face-to-face when we’re living in a hyper connected world can easily fall off the priority list. That’s why every Friday I see what meetings I have scheduled at the start of the following week, so I can create my preparation plan. Regardless of the prior week and the inevitable outstanding to-dos, creating a preparation plan at the end of one week enables effective prioritization for the start of the next. That goes for making lunches for the kids to pre-reading for upcoming meetings. 

Navigating my blended life requires constant prioritization. In business, this means understanding past problems, analyzing your current solutions and, most importantly, looking ahead.

Here are three questions I ask myself to kickstart my preparation to show up ready as an active participant versus a bystander in the business week ahead:

1.   Is how I’m spending the week ahead consistent with the strategy of the business?

It is critical to conduct mini “health checks” on how my work is supporting the overall company strategy. Strategy isn’t a once-a-year event. To deliver upon it requires constant re-alignment as the days can easily take you down a path that doesn’t ladder to delivering the overall goal. Regardless of when I was a financial analyst, a sales representative or in my current role leading a business, the accelerator to results is continual realignment to the overall strategy and ensuring clarity on your fit in the bigger picture. In the human capital business at ManpowerGroup, people are at the center of business strategy. Assessing my calendar is one way I ensure the limited resource of time intersects with the strategy, putting the right focus on people.

2.   What will I do this week to create a step-change in my business results?

Step change does not mean the day-to-day requirements of our jobs. It means asking ‘what am I doing to make a meaningful impact?’ ‘What are the bets I’m placing on the critical few actions, which if they succeed, can push the trajectory of the business upward?’ I constantly challenge myself on what things I should be doing differently (big and small things) as we know that repetition of the same actions doesn’t yield a different outcome. Tactically, “different” ranges from ensuring I have enough client meetings scheduled and focusing on two to three metrics that are emerging as predictive to learning the benefits of new tech that could drive more informed decision making and business results.

We all need a few BIG things we are working on outside of our daily requirements to create a step-change. And be reasonable. We can’t fit in more than a few – yet carefully selecting the few big ones can pay big dividends.

3.   What am I doing to build my brand in the marketplace?

Most of us have two brands in the marketplace - our own personal brand called brand YOU, and the brand we represent through our work choices. In an ideal state, these two brands are synergistic – you get to do work that is core to your beliefs, thereby reinforcing each other. That’s my truth today. Brands aren’t built with one click. They take continuous effort. I actively reflect on what I am doing to build my personal brand from reading new books and articles to attending events to keep myself current in my profession, which is a significant part of my personal brand. 

It’s critical we simultaneously represent the brand which employs us. There are many ways you can build your company’s brand, from getting involved in various business associations to making personal calls to clients to check satisfaction. Building the brand is how you open doors for dialogue, so your clients know you are the expert in your field and there is no one more qualified or committed to deliver the results they are seeking. I was raised with the value of work being central to life and I’m grateful to do work at ManpowerGroup that is synonymous with my passion – helping people find meaningful and sustainable employment.

As you wind out one week and prepare for next, take a look through your calendar with fresh eyes to start the preparation process and prioritize your time aligned to company goals, to business results and to how it relates to your personal brand and the company brand you represent in the market.