STANDARDS Standards are ideas or a level or quality or attainment. Standards help us measure in comparative evaluations of how something currently is and how we want it to be. When we set standards for ourself we must perform or out perform those standards. This is how successful people live every day. Standards are different than goals. Goals are things you want to accomplish that have a time frame. They could be hitting your revenue budget or increase conversion rate. A standard however goes beyond that. A standard is a level of expectation that does not require time to complete. It is how it should be at all times. The only scenario where time is involved is when setting new standards. You must set Time Goals to reach a standard level but once you have reached it, the standard must be executed 100% without fail at all times. Set standards for yourself in the way you act, speak, dress, your poise and demeanor and your interaction with other people. A leader is one of unwavering standards and morals. When you set standards, you must always be monitoring behaviors. Look for the bad and the good. The bad behaviors come from individuals that do not believe in the standard and are not putting their best foot forward in attempt to achieve it. The good behaviors come from the associates that have the most buy in to the goal or idea of what the standard it. In order to give your team a change to success you need to effectively communicate these standards to them in a way that they understand. Be wary of setting your standards in an email unless you know that your team reads 100% of all YOUR emails. Standards are not just set by you remember, they can be set by your organization or they could be compliance and quality standards that are regulated such as ISO 9001. When you set a standard, you must remember to be human and not a dictator but always accept nothing less than your standard when someone is not giving 100% of their effort in achieving it.