Get Clarity, Get Focused, Get Results!

Have you been feeling like you’re on that proverbial hamster wheel? Sometimes, we can get so deep in the weeds and the day to day needs of our business that we can no longer see the forest for the trees. When this happens, we are unable to make the necessary strategic decisions that guide our company to success.

At the time of this writing, the 2nd quarter of 2015 has just started. If you’re an entrepreneurs, today is a great time to get clear. Now is the perfect time to gain some clarity in your business.  So many of my new clients struggle with the overwhelming, day to day functions in their business. When we meet early in our coaching relationship, what I often times see is a woman struggling with two big challenges. (My coaching programs are targeted to women entrepreneurs). The first challenge is the super woman syndrome.  As women entrepreneurs, heck, as women in general, we think that we should be able to handle any and everything on our plate. We were built for this, right? We aren’t given any more than we can bear, right? What doesn’t kill last, makes us stronger, right? Of course, I’m being facetious as I post these questions. Typically we take on much more in our business is then we need to. We try to do far too many things at once. Trust me, multitasking is not your friend.  It’s ok to delegate and ask for help when it’s needed.

 

The second big challenge that entrepreneurs deal with is lacking clarity. Clarity in mind; clarity in focus; and clarity in business.  Remember those trees I just mentioned? Those trees serve to block our focus. Those trees make it so much more difficult to see the big picture in our businesses. And that stunts our growth.  You can’t know if you’re on the right course if your view is always obstructed.

 

One of the very first things I walk my clients through when we start a coaching relationship is a clarity session. We go really deep into decluttering the mind space and resetting a new mindset that will help her be successful. I walk her through step by step how to readjust her focus when it comes to the business. And then we establish specific results that both qualify and quantify her successes.  And trust me, we don’t just create a list of “nice to have’s” either. We actually qualify the desired results by establishing the baseline ROI that’s expected for each goal. If the results don’t at a minimum “meet” that baseline, she hasn’t been successful.  We spend a lot of time on this because the goal is to achieve maximum success.

However, you can do the same thing for your business today. You can actually do this in as little as 30 minutes.  I suggest to my clients that this should be an exercise that they repeat at a minimum of each month and preferably each week to ensure that they stay on the right track. So here are the steps: First, find a quiet place where you won’t likely be interrupted. My only rules are that this place is NOT your normal work space or your bed.  If you try this in your normal workspace, you’re likely to get distracted by the things on your desk that need attention.  And it shouldn’t be your bed because while you should be comfortable, you shouldn’t be tempted to take a nap!

Now, take out a yellow legal pad and your favorite pen. I like yellow legal pads. I think they’re more fun then the plain white ones and I think it’s easier for me to see what I’m writing on them. Remember, this is an exercise about clarity!  This next part is very important. Give this part of the exercise no more than 10 minutes because any longer and you’re probably searching too hard for what to write down.  This should be organic and deal with top of mind issues.  If you do this often enough, you’ll eventually get everything out and down on paper. Remember, spend only 10 minutes getting clear.  I found that the best way to do this is to do a brain dump. Write down any and everything that is on your mind at this very moment. Get it out of your mind and down on paper. Completely clear your head. It doesn’t matter what it is, write it down.  This helps set the tone for the next steps in the exercise.  Next, spend 5 minutes going through that list to determine what things that you wrote down are actually tasks and what’s just clutter. Cross off anything that’s clutter.

The next phase is to Get Focused. This should take approximately 5 minutes. Of the items left on the list (the tasks), identify the top 3 things that will actually generate revenue in your business.  Put an asterisk next to each of them.  Only choose 3 things.  Don’t fall victim to the “But it’s all important!” monster. Force yourself to choose only 3.  These are the 3 things, and the ONLY 3 things, that you will focus on for the next week or month depending on how often you do this exercise.  When something else comes up, you must ask yourself “Is this a matter of life or death to my business?”  If it’s not, it can wait.  Your goal is to do only those things that get you closest to your next revenue dollar.

Finally, for the last 10 minutes identify the desired results you expect to achieve from the 3 focus areas that you picked and the baseline ROI needed for success. What is the minimum return on investment for the resources you dedicate to completing this particular task?  What would blow your mind?  What’s the middle ground?  Write down all of the expected results.  Do you expect to gain a new client, finish a project, or something else? Write it down. Don’t skimp on this part.  Do this for each of the three focus areas you identified.

Now sit back and take a breath. Review your work. Have you forgotten to include a result?  Add it now, but don’t change the top three items.  Stick with your first instincts.  Follow your gut.  Now commit to yourself and your business that this will be your road map for the week. This road map will provide your direction for the next week or until you have your next clarity session.  So, what to do if you find yourself on the wrong path during the week?  Pull out your map, see where you took a wrong turn, and get back on track!  And if you find that you reach your goals much sooner than you thought you would, schedule your next clarity session for tomorrow morning and do it all over again!  You’ll be amazed at the results you’ll begin to see in your business!

Be Proactive, Be Productive, Be Profitable!