Make Things Happen in 2016: FAQ With Ryan Sauers

I spend a lot of time consulting on organizational growth and leadership related topics. In this post, I provide you three examples of FAQ…and my responses (noted as Ryan's Remarks) to each of them. I hope this proves helpful to you today and in the coming weeks.

FAQ 1: Ryan, we have not had enough time to do any planning for 2016. We have been slammed (busy) and have not had any time to think through such planning. Do you have any suggestions?

Ryan's Remarks 1: I understand how busy you are. We live in a world that moves rapidly and is constantly connected. It is hard to balance everything. However, with that said, we all have the same amount of time—168 hours in a week (24x7). Nobody has any more or less of it. Thus, the statement as leaders cannot be that "we did not have enough time" to do something and must change to "we did not make enough time" to do something. You see, if you want it bad enough (i.e. planning for 2016) you will find a way…and if you don't...you will find an excuse. It is as simple as that.

FAQ 2: Ryan, most of my employees don't seem as if they want to work much more than a 40 hour work week and prefer doing things the way they’ve always done them. Do you have any suggestions?

Ryan’s Remarks 2: It is not the number of hours a week a person works that matters. It is the amount of dedication, diligence, and desire brought each hour that matters. You must develop employees who "believe what you believe" and do things because they want to NOT because they have to. For most people to "buy in" and begin changing their ways, they need to see a compelling vision and in turn want to become part of it. Thus, it is imperative, that you communicate your vision simply and share it convincingly. It is true that human beings are reluctant to change (unless they see a clear reason why they should do so). Your job is to clearly communicate with them so they understand how important they are to the process and why change needs to occur. I recommend that you do this one on one...and then with the group as a whole (once you have individual buy in).

FAQ 3: Ryan, you told us we should be more goal focused. Our goal in sales for 2016 is to have a lot more sales activity and sell more during the year. Is this a goal that will work?

Ryan’s Remarks 3: It is indeed important to be goal oriented. And I applaud you for thinking in this manner. However, a goal should be SMART in nature. This means it should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Bound. In the question you asked, "selling more" is too broad and should be narrowed down. For example, you could write something like this: "Our goal is to sell 10 percent more (in gross sales) in calendar year 2016 over calendar year 2015." Assuming 10 percent is a realistic and attainable number, this is the type of goal that should be set. It is specific, measurable, and has dates associated with it. Furthermore, once you set goals, it is vital to break them down even further into the action steps needed to achieve them. Thus, each goal should be broken into ("mini-goals") that can also be measured.

Have a great week and in the meantime…let's connect.

Ryan@RyanSauers.com | (678) 925-2049 | RyanSauers.com | @RyanSauers | LinkedIn