“If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.”
– attributed to Jack Dixon, via Sue Jenks on Twitter (@sunamii)
2 x 4 moment, courtesy of one of my favorite Tweeters…
We can’t manage results. Results have already happened. They’re what is on the scoreboard. The “plays” that produced the “points” are already in the box score. What will we do next?
Perhaps the biggest trap business leaders struggle with is focusing almost exclusively on the rear-view-mirror at the expense of the view out the windshield.
“Never” is a powerful word, and one that I avoid, by-and-large. But Sue and Jack’s use of it in this context is appropriate and powerful. It’s like Dad and another mentor of mine often said, “If you keep doin’ what you’re doin’, you’ll get more of what you’ve got.” If you want something else or something more, change is required.
Now, another mentor of mine, Tom Graf, also says, “Change will only occur when the fear of change is overcome by the pain of remaining the same.”
So, close your eyes. Feel the pain of remaining the same.
Now, quickly: Write down the two things you’d most like to change about your business. The first two things that come to mind.
Next, focus on those two things. Jot ideas. Identify obstacles. Imagine the impact of changing those things in descriptive, energizing terms. But focus on the change, not the results, because we can’t look backwards and forwards at the same time.
Once you get a chance to focus on the change, let us know the results, because I’ll bet they’ll be worth sharing.
P.S. I’m not sure if it’s Jack Dixon the author or Jack Dixon the rugby player she’s referencing and I don’t care. He’s right, whichever one it is!
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