Finally, be honest! 😇

Most of us constantly lie to ourselves. We tell what we want to achieve and rationalise why we didn’t achieve it so far. Let me be brutally honest: These are all lies! Sounds harsh, and yet, sometimes, the most helpful pills are the toughest to swallow. 

Why can I say this? Because almost all that you truly want, you will achieve. The emphasis is on “truly”. We all are masters in sabotaging ourselves by telling us stories that hold us back from unlocking the full power.

Often, we try to get to a hundred miles per hour, but leave our feet on the brakes. Or we want to become financially independent, but do not behave in the best way to attract money. Believe me, I’m also talking from my own experience. 

Here comes the thing: You will achieve almost everything in your life that is not only a “want”, but a “must” for you.

Conclusion: Everything you wanted but haven’t achieved so far, is not a “must”, but a dream. 

One of the first things I work on with my clients is to turn their wants into musts.

It helps to talk about “Must-win-deals”, for example, deals you are not willing to discuss internally, but to see them with the client’s signature. Or take the legendary stories of how FedEx ensured next-day-delivery, even if they needed to rent a helicopter for just one package. These are true “musts”. 

Here are three areas in which I see most businesses having too many wants and too few musts – with the consequence of not living up to their true potential: 

1. Values.
   Most company values are nothing more than nice intentions – if at all. They are “wants” at best. No wonder they are constantly violated with no consequence. Here is my suggestion: become serious about your values and turn their application into a “must”. This means not accepting any violation and constantly reinforcing their application in daily routines.
2. Strategic goals.
   Many CEOs lie to themselves when they say the problem about strategic goals is that they are important, but not urgent, and this is the reason for not achieving them on time. I tell you this: if they were truly important, you would make happen everything to implement them. Period! Conclusion: If you want your strategy to be executed, make the achievement of your strategic goals a “must”, with clear accountabilities, metrics, timelines, and consequences for non-achievers.
3. Customers.
   This is a great one. Customer service for most companies is a “want”, but not a “must”. How else can poor customer service rather be the standard than the exception? My suggestion: Make it a must to return each customer inquiry within 3 hours. Or to turn each complaining customer into a fan. Just examples. There are many ways to become serious with your customers.

These suggestions sound simple but are NOT easy to implement. I can support and guide you with my Coaching Programs. Click here for more information and to enrol in the program.