About a week ago I was talking with my wife regarding a client I have and I made the comment that in working with a particular employee there that they were simply “phoning” it in on a daily basis. Being the start of a New Year - the client wanted specific new procedures in place as a ways to move the company towards stated goals for 2019.
Breaking the staff into 3 different teams we met for lunch to introduce the 2019 objectives and to set expectations for each team so that they knew what was expected of them in the effort to meet or exceed the stated goals.
During lunch I was quite surprised by how much push back came from one particular employee. Going into the lunch meeting I knew in the past that this employee ran either really hot or really cold - sadly really cold showed up on that day.
After the initial goals were laid out and the employee had a chance to voice all the reasons why they felt it couldn’t work - I shifted the direction of the conversation to discuss what would occur if the plan as presented did work.
The reality is this employee is not unique, we all face similar challenges each and everyday. Challenges that in our own minds we can start to justify as to why it may not work, or why we shouldn’t do something. The status quo is a comfortable place to be - change is hard.
The challenge becomes simply this, if you are going to get into the game, why not play to win. Granted, you may not think of your work environment as a game, but the fact is it is an arena that consumes a tremendous amount of you waking hours. Since you have to be there anyways, why not give it your all and look for ways to win.
Years ago I remember reading a sales book that suggested the best salespeople are the ones who work first thing Monday all the way through late Friday afternoon in an attempt to create business. The point was this, while others spend Monday mornings recovering from the weekend and Friday afternoons planning for the weekend, a great salesperson is looking for that competitive edge to propel their numbers past others.
Not only does that extra effort normally translate into increase productivity - in most cases it helps the work day go quicker as well.
I have tremendous respect for people (and business owners) who are intentional about setting forth goals that they want to see met during a specific period. My client spent 2 months evaluating where the business was currently, where they wanted it to be at the same time 12 months later, and what steps where necessary to see that occur.
As lunch wrapped up the overall tone shifted from a “I can’t” attitude to a “I’ll give it a try” approach. Although I know they aren’t all in on the owners plans yet, being willing to give it a go will prove beneficial.
Like playing a game, you may not believe initially that you can win - but once you get going you realize that you just might have a fighting chance of winning causing you to put your all into seeing that realized.
If you are going to play - play to win. Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Why not live your life to win?
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