Last week after multiple attempts I was lucky to have a conversation with a close friend.  It seems that whenever I call her she was just coming out of a meeting or going into another one.  Jokingly I said, "Do you ever get any work done?"  She replied, "No, not as much as I could and many of the meetings seem unproductive and a waste of time. 

To reach high levels of performance in the meeting environment the following process will enhance a favorable outcome to any meeting.

Step 1:   Prior to the meeting date, an email should be sent out to each member of the team with a proposed agenda and the objective of the meeting so that all attendees are prepared for team effectiveness.  The email should also include a start time, an end time and the location of the meeting assuming there are multiple conference rooms. 

Step 2:   On the meeting day and time all participants should arrive on time with a pad and pen, prepared to participate in the meeting and take notes. 

Step 3:   The time slot for the meeting should again be restated, the agenda reviewed and any additions or changes should be noted.  In general terms the theme of the meeting should include, but not be limited to, the current state of affairs, what needs to be accomplished, and what needs to be done to accomplish the objectives.  The meeting should end on time with specific action steps to be taken along with an associated a due date.  The action items should either be assigned or volunteered for. 

 

Last week I had lunch with a friend who was visiting from North Carolina.  Over lunch I was asked, "Do you write your own newsletters?"  I replied, "Yes."  During our lunch meeting my friend raised a couple of issues that she was being faced with to which I commented, "Oh, those issues were addressed in a couple of articles which I wrote and posted on my web-site."   I also went on to inform her of the titles of the articles.  My friend said, "I didn't read those two," to which I replied, "Have you read any of them?"  The response that I received was negative but she went on to say, "I created a folder and I place all of the articles in the folder with every intention of reading them." 

 

My friend went on to say that she has so much to do, time just flies by and she is unable to get everything done that she needs to do.  She said that she procrastinates and important tasks fall through the cracks creating stress and exhaustion.

 

The thing that I find very interesting is that my friend had some issues that needed to be addressed in her business.  Had she read the articles she would have found the solutions she was looking for and would have increased her performance and results.  One of the great enemies of being a top performer is procrastination.  How many times do we flit from event to event only to find ourselves at the end of the day not having accomplished what we wanted to accomplish? 

 

If you have found yourself in a similar situation you may want to go back and read the article entitled Take on the Challenge, Make Better Use of Your Time & Achieve Higher Levels of Performance which was posted on November 10, 2009 in addition to the article entitled UPDATE:  Take on the Challenge, Make Better Use of Your Time & Achieve Higher Levels of Performance which was posted on November 12, 2009.

The stage is set. There is a table, five dishes and five poles. A man comes out on the stage in a tuxedo, places a plate on top of one of the poles and begins to spin it. As it picks up speed he balances the pole with the spinning dish on the table and then goes to the next dish. He places the second dish on the top of another pole, spins it until it picks up speed and balances it on the table. As the second dish spins a curious thing happens. The first dish is losing speed and begins to wobble. He now gives all his attention to the first dish working on the pole so it causes the first dish to pick up speed. But as luck would have it the second dish is now losing speed and the man now has to work the second dish so it will pick up speed. Now a decision is made to spin both poles so both dishes pick up speed. At this point he is ready to take the third dish, place it on the top of the third pole and spin it so the dish picks up speed. As he completes this he notices that dish one and two are losing speed and has to go back to the two dishes to get them back up to speed.

By the time the man gets all five dishes spinning he is running back and forth, breaking into a sweat and trying to keep all the dishes spinning at a high speed. Since this was all done in the form of entertainment, when all of the dishes are spinning he takes a bow, the audience claps and he is a hero. He points to the dishes and as they all lose speed they begin to fall to the stage floor and the audience laughs.

NOW, let's look at the business application. Do you ever get to the end of the day feeling tired, wondering what you accomplished and are saying in one form or another, "I spent the whole day just trying to keep everything going.  I had so much to do today I could hardly keep up." And, more importantly, if you took your attention away from the days work would things begin to crash?

WELL, here is a question to ask, "Are you a two hundred dollar an hour person doing twenty dollar an hour work?" Here is how to find out. If you go to the Medieval Times restaurant there is a period of time when there is a joust. The knights come out on horseback with their lances and begin to fight. If one of the knight's lances are damaged or dropped the vassal is there to hand the knight another lance. When the knight dismounts the horse the vassal is there to hand the knight a sword, mace or other instrument of battle. If you are beginning to get the picture, the knight focuses on what the knight needs to do, only what he needs to do and does it well. The rest of the tasks are delegated to someone else. At the end of the day the knight doesn't feed the horse, sharpen the swords, buy food for the horse, etc. The knight only does what the knight is supposed to do and by doing so can do more of what knights are supposed to do. Take a look at what you are supposed to do each day and delegate what needs to be delegated so you can do what you are supposed to be doing.

On a final note, in the heat of battle when the knight dropped the lance and went back to get another lance, if when dismounted had to go find a lance, THE KNIGHT WOULD BE DEAD.

Some people are good at wasting time but not everybody is good at using time to achieve high levels of performance.  What we need to do first is to define time.  The definition of time that I use is the distance between cause and effect or, put another way, the distance between initiating an action and producing a result. 

We will know we have used time wisely when we have chosen a task among a selection that produces a result far greater than if we had participated in any of the events we did not choose.  If given the option to move a grain of sand or a boulder, choosing to move the boulder would have been the best use of time.  The question we need to ask ourselves each day is, "What do I need to be working on today to produce the greatest result?" 

I remember having a conversation with an individual who had made a decision to mail out a proposal rather than to meet with the prospect and go over the proposal point by point.  When I asked his reason for doing this he told me was able to save time.  In reality he didn't save any time, wasn't able deposit the time in a bank, put the time in a drawer for later or add the time to the next day.  This raises the question of whether or not he was using time wisely or taking shortcuts that were not productive. 

Sometimes using time wisely requires more effort, more discipline and focus.  When making a decision to use time one should always ask, "What is the highest outcome that will be derived from my effort using this particular strategy or should I be doing something else."

Friday night I was taking a red eye flight from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey.  Prior to dropping off the rental car I stopped at a gas station to fill the tank.  I was approached by a man who was unshaven, almost toothless, scarred face and for the most part disheveled. The conversation went as follows.

The Man:  Let me pump the gas for you.

Me:  No, its okay.  I can do it.

The Man:  I would really like to do it for you.

Me:  Oh, you work here?

The Man:  No, I am a disabled veteran trying to make a few bucks.

Me:  You said you don't work here?

The Man:  That's right I just work for whatever people will give me.  Some people don't let me pump their gas, others do.  Some will give me a tip and some don't.  I just do what I do and God takes care of the rest.

Me:  I am impressed.  You have a great attitude.

The Man:  Son, I only got two things.

Me:  Oh, what's that?

The Man:  I got the life God gave, my attitude and what I do with that life.

Me:  Well you sure have a great attitude.

The Man:  What other choice do I have?  If it isn't good attitude nothing else will be good.

Me:  You sound like a minister.

The Man:  Ha, ha!

Me:  What is so funny?

The Man:  You better get inside and give them your credit card or you will miss your plane.  You have to go inside to the convenience store, they will put your credit card in the machine and I will be able to pump your gas.

Me:  Ok, I will be right back.

As I approached the store a young women approached me and asked, "Can you spare some lose change?"

Me:  Sure, I will catch you on my way out.

I gave the attendant in the store my credit card.  As I was about to leave I mentioned I was very impressed with the man outside who wanted to pump the gas for me.

The Store Attendant:  Yeah, he is here every morning and stays late every night.  Some people get upset with him because he wants to pump gas for them.  Sometimes when I get a really irate customer I have to send him away but he always comes back.  He is just trying to make a living while others just want someone to take care of them.

Me:  Like the girl outside?

The Store Attendant:  What girl?

Me:  Are you telling me no one has complained about the girl outside that asks for lose change?

The Store Attendant:  What girl?

I left the store and gave the young girl outside the door a dollar.

When I got back to my car the man was pumping the gas for me.

The Man:  It is almost filled and you can be on your way.

Me:  I really appreciate what you are doing.

The Man:  I am happy to do it.  Your tank is filled.

Me:  No, I really mean it.  I am really happy to meet you.  Thank you for pumping the gas.

I gave the man a tip which came to about 20% of the gas bill.

The Man:  Hey man, thanks.

Me:  No, thank you.

As I drove away the man gave me thumbs up and a big smile.

What was the lesson here for me?

Here was a man that was somewhat down and out.  He was willing to take a chance and do something for someone on the outside chance he would be compensated.  He has a history of being totally committed to someone and was willing to take the risk he would not be compensated for his efforts.  He knew that sometimes in spite of his best effort some people would not want him as part as part of their formula.  For the man it didn't matter. He trusted if he continued to do what he needed to do, it would all work out.

This is what I got out of this experience.  The key to achieving high levels of performance is having a great attitude, not worrying about what people may say about you, being willing to be there for others, following your instincts, and not worrying about rejection.  If rejection comes get back on your horse and do what you do.

I would really like to know if you have benefited from my experience.  If you have tell other people abut this Blog.

I received a call from a client who had read the article identified in the email sent out on Tuesday of this week.  He told me he put the practice into effect on Tuesday night and had an outrageously productive day on Wednesday as a result.  He also informed me that today he had accomplished more than he would normally.  If the truth be told, he focused on the top three items he needed to complete.  He became so empowered with his ability to produce a result it had a domino effect on the following day.  If you have not read the article from Tuesday you may want to do so and put the practice into place tonight. 

Please scroll down to read the previous article.

I want to share a technique that will help you stay more focused, have a more masterful approach to getting things done each day, become more result oriented, and decrease the potential of incompletions.

I believe time is the great equalizer.  Every one of us has the same amount of time.  Some make better use of it than others.

There is a strong argument for using planners and having to do lists that have been prioritized and labeled A, B or C.

I knew a person that color coded her to do list and phone calls, put it in an Excel spreadsheet and was happy to show it to all comers.  The sheet was quite attractive.

On a given day fires and distractions would occur that needed to be addressed and the to do list got postponed by a day.  The next day the to do list got longer and again the fires and distractions came about and maybe part of the to do list has been addressed.

By the end of the week the list had grown to a monumental size and almost seemed daunting.  We have all been there or are there right now.  Not necessarily with the color coding but certainly more to do items than time will allow.

The time management gurus will tell us we need to manage our time better.  I disagree. We need to manage the events we choose to participate in better.

For tomorrow to be a success a result has to be produced. In order to be more masterful and produce results and achieve higher levels of success there is a very important question I ask myself each evening. Here is the question, "What are the three most important things I need to do tomorrow that will impact my life tomorrow and in ten years?"

Give it a try this evening.  Take on the challenge. Write down the three most important things you will do tomorrow that will impact your life tomorrow and ten years from now.

The sign read, "We Are Closing Our Doors.  Everything Must Go."  A national chain hardware store in our neighborhood has a sign in its window running sales on everything.  I have needed a chain saw for quite some time and thought I would take advantage of a good bargain.  In the rear of the store was a display rack with one 18" blade chain saw for $149.00.  The box for the saw was an additional $30.00, chain bar oil was about $5.00 and oil for the gas was another $2.00. The total investment came to $186.00 plus sales tax.

When I went to the front desk I asked if there was a manual for the saw and was told there was not one on hand but they would print it out for me. The assistant manager told me it would take a while for the printer to print because it was a large document.  The assistant entered the information into his computer and the green light on the printer began to flash.  The assistant again reaffirmed it would take a while for the document to print.  I watched the printer light blink and passed the time talking with my younger son.  After ten minutes had passed and the printing had not started I opened the drawer to the printer and saw there wasn't any paper in the printer.  I let the assistant know he was out of paper.  In a heartbeat he was at the printer and put what could not have been more than three sheets of paper into the printer tray.  I reminded the assistant that it was a large document to which he replied, "I know but this all the paper I have here."  I asked if he had other paper.  He indicated he did but it was for the other printer. After some discussion he agreed to go into the office to get more paper, put it in the printer and once again begin the printing process.  As the copies came out the printer was printing half the page and for the most part the print that was a light gray and was hardly visible.  When I brought this to the attention of the assistant he said they needed a new toner cartridge and he was doing the best he could. Again we had a conversation and he figured out he could print on the other printer in his office.  After everything was said and done I walked out the door with my chain saw and manual.

When I arrived home I put gas in the saw along with the oil.  The most amazing thing happened. The gas was leaking out of the saw.  I went back to the store to return the saw only to be told all sales were final but they would send it out for repair.  Those of you that know me know that was not going to work for me.  After much discussion I left the store with a refund and went to Home Depot where I met a very helpful salesperson that provided me with a chain saw, carrying case, extra chain, oil for the gas and bar oil for the chain.  The saw was about $159.00 and I received approximately $70.00 in additional product that came with the saw.

Now, when you think about HIGH PERFORMANCE, what were the indicators of a lack of high performance in the first store and why do you suppose they were really going out of business.  I am interested in hearing your comments which you can enter below.

I received a telephone call from a friend and business owner who had read the blog "An Inhibitor of High Performance".  After reading the blog he noticed for the very first time how many thoughts entered his mind that had nothing to do with what he was working on.  He made a decision to ignore the distracting thoughts and stayed focused on the task at hand.  At the end of the day he was amazed at how much he had accomplished as a result of disciplining himself by ignoring the mental interruptions. 

If you have not, I strongly suggest you reread the blog and practice it for one full day.  The first ten people to comment on their success will receive a complimentary success consultation valued at $350.00.

In a recent conversation an executive told me he had so much on his plate that it was difficult to get everything done.  One of his goals was to visit one of the company's customers as a good will ambassador to solidify their long term relationship.  It was important for him to do it and yet he could not see how he could fit it into his schedule. 

When we calculated all of the travel and travel related time round trip it was estimated to be approximately 14 hours.  I asked him if he could cut the time in half what could he accomplish.  I then explained, what if you had the client do all of the traveling?  He would incur all of the travel time.  Reserve a hotel suite for him and his wife, pick them up at the airport in a limousine, take him for a plant tour and a round of golf in the afternoon while your secretary takes his wife into New York for a shopping spree, and then dinner for four that same evening. 

At the end of the day the client would see more value in the relationship and the executive would be able to get more accomplished in addition to creating a lasting memory for the client.