RAINMAKERS
“ We humans are creatures of habit and although that ’ s mostly a good thing - habits help us automate repetitive tasks without occupying our brain ’ s processing power - there are some serious downsides . The most insidious is complacency - a seductive sense of comfort with the status quo - which is an absolute growth killer ”
If you have a people problem - and the odds are you do - it ’ s best to be honest with yourself and upgrade your team . Without radically rethinking whether you have the right professionals in place , your firm won ’ t scale as smoothly or as rapidly as you desire .
Priorities
“ When everything is a priority , nothing is a priority .” - Mark Green
The primary role of a leader is to point to what matters most . To do that , you must create clarity and focus on a small number of very important things .
The word “ priority ” first appeared in the English language in the 1400s . It was singular ; there was no plural for the word . The definition was “ the very first - or prior - thing ,” and it remained a singular term for about 500 years .
Then , in the early 1900s , the language evolved , and the plural term “ priorities ” was born . For leaders everywhere , this should have been hailed as a most troubling development ! With implied permission to have many priorities , the leader ’ s job of pointing to what matters most became considerably more complicated . After all , when everything is important , nothing is important - and our “ priorities ” are treated like items on a to-do list rather than most important things .
Enter Italian civil engineer , sociologist , economist , political scientist , and philosopher Vilfredo Pareto who , in the early 1900 ’ s insightfully offered a mental model to bring us back to the standard of a “ most important ” thing .
Pareto ’ s insight gave birth to what is now known as the 80 / 20 Rule - the idea that a small number of things are typically the cause of a disproportionately large percentage of outcomes . In other words , for example , approximately 20 % of your customers likely generate 80 % of your profit , 20 % of your employees cause 80 % of your headaches , 20 % of your leadership team contributes 80 % of the strategic insight , and so on .
We adapted Pareto ’ s thinking into client priority planning processes using a domino analogy . You ’ ve probably seen a video of thousands of dominos lined up , one-by-one , in a complicated pattern - and then the lead domino is knocked over , which causes all the other dominos to fall over in succession ( google the world record video for reference ).
It ’ s the lead domino We most interested to explore . There ’ s a good reason why the lead domino is tipped over first , and not another domino further down the line : It has the potential to impact the most other dominos along the way . In other words , the lead domino has maximum power compared to all of the other dominos .
To bring this back to priority planning , think for a moment about the “ lead dominos ” in your business this year . They should be the one , two , or three things that have the greatest potential to impact the most other things you want to achieve . These are your true priorities !
Here are the four rules I use with my clients as we define their “ lead domino ” priorities : Plan three-year , one-year , and one-quarter priorities ; While three-year priorities can be more vague , priorities for the year and the quarter should be crisp and in focus ; Stick to a maximum of three annual priorities and one quarterly ROCK - the “ lead domino ” you ’ ve identified as most important for your business that quarter . In addition , each executive on the leadership team can take on a maximum of two individual priorities for their functional roles ( to be supported by their teams ) per quarter .
As you pare down your priorities to the essential few , ensure they ’ re focused and clear . To check , watch for symptoms of poorly defined priorities : team members struggling with “ time management ” problems , mired in lots of activity while achieving very little , or putting out fires as a primary function of management .
Without clarity on a small number of most important things , you ’ re not pointing to what matters most and your team lacks critical guidance regarding how you expect them to make decisions and allocate their time . This is exactly why you might need to radically rethink how you create and communicate your firm ’ s priorities .
Rhythms
“ In the beginning , there was noise . Noise begat rhythm , and rhythm begat everything else .” - Mickey Hart
There ’ s something magical and familiar about any beat . From our hearts , to our lives , to our relationships , and to our organizations , there ’ s a beat ; a rhythm that marks time , events , and accomplishments .
It ’ s a beautiful thing to see an organization ’ s rhythm in synch with its rate of growth . There ’ s energy , coordination , and a knowing or predictability to everyone ’ s day , week , month , and quarter .
On the other hand , in both the largest and the smallest of firms , a lack of rhythm can be costly and frustrating to leaders , employees , clients , partners , and suppliers alike . Implementing communication rhythms fixes these issues , improves accountability , builds esprit de corps , and - when deployed properly - strengthens culture along the way .
Repetition is another critical rhythm to embrace as a leader . If you ’ re not repeating yourself , you ’ re not really pointing to what matters most . If you ’ re not repeating yourself , you ’ re not giving your team a chance to learn and internalize what you ’ re saying . If you ’ re not repeating yourself , you cannot be an effective communicator !
Communication rhythms including repetition , daily huddles and weekly meetings are the simplest , most powerful leadership processes your team can implement .
To help you catch the beat , here are the daily and weekly communication rhythms I coach my clients to use :
The Daily Huddle : The daily huddle is a stand-up meeting that lasts fifteen minutes or less . The focus is on synchronization - “ what ’ s up ” in the organization and any “ stucks ” ( obstacles or challenges ) members of
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