Results are all that matter – or do they?
The more you manage people, the more you realize that many people work to produce results that will have little impact. This is simply wasted time, effort, and resources.
A simple solution
The most direct solution is to insist that every month all managers define results for their position. This may seem like over kill, but it is a very low-cost, high payoff practice. Asking these four questions about any job can triple your chances of making a solid contribution.
The four questions:
• If I could make a significant difference, where would that be (open inquiry, no limits)?
• What is the current situation and what would success require (today’s reality – not last month’s)?
• What strengths, actions, effort and attitude would I need to achieve this?
• Would others be able to see results from my effort? List them.
This process can be done alone, with the boss, or as a team. It does not matter how you do it. What matters is knowing that you will always make a greater contribution when you know what you are doing.
Try it for your own performance and see what you discover.
Richard L Reardon
