We entrepreneurs tend to juggle the pressures of work and family. We set the bar high, and as a result, feel like we’re underperforming in all ways. Then we read and hear about others seemingly nailing it in all areas of life, and we fall into despair with negative self-talk that “I’m just not good enough”.
Perfection is utopia, it does not exist. Therefore, holding ourselves to some sort of illusion that we must achieve perfect harmony and balance in all areas of life, is simply self-sabotage. Instead, we can create small, incremental changes that create lasting impact if we follow a simple template involving 3 Ps. That is, People, Passion and Pulse.
Creating Positive Change with the 3 Ps: People, Passion, Pulse
As entrepreneurs, our business tends to be front and centre, consuming much of our time and energy. However, if we start with simple and practical positive changes, we can achieve:
- better results,
- reduce stress levels,
- Increase liquidity,
- and have more time and energy for family, community and self.
The 3 key areas of opportunity for positive change include these three P’s:
- People
- Passion
- Pulse
With 3 months remaining in the calendar year, now is an optimal time to tune up the 3 P’s, this will help you get your 2022 goals over the line, strengthen the business and help you carve out time and energy for other important areas of your life.
1. Optimizing your People
It can be a huge shift for many entrepreneurs to move toward: trusting others to help your business. But, once you get clear on what you need and embrace the skills, talents and expertise of others, you will be able to achieve so much more with far less of your own horsepower.
It is critical to get clear on what “right people” look like for you and what “right seats” you need to fill and when. Making the right people move at the right time can unlock the potential of your business and free yourself to elevate to a space where you can truly lead the company.
Action Item #1:
- Define your core values set to recognize what the right people look like for your team.
- Get clear on the accountability structure you need over the next 6-12 months to achieve your goals.
- Identify your timeline and budget for hiring.
- When you make a key hire, set them up for success with clear scope and direction, then get out of the way!
Do you have the right people in the right seats across these key functions of your business?
- Sales (outside sales, sales support)
- Marketing (copywriters, ad specialists, graphic designers)
- Accounting (bookkeepers, accountants, tax specialists)
- Service Delivery (technicians, customer service)
- Product Development (engineering, UX/UI, QA/QC)
It is important to also ensure that you are clear on expectations, define success and have a consistent approach to managing team members. Let go of the need to micromanage, rather set them up for success and let them run!
2. Re-energizing Passions
People who love what they do, why they do it, and who they do it with, achieve more results, stay longer in their place of employment, and experience deep fulfillment. As leaders of our businesses, we set the tone and the direction for this passion. The energy we bring to the business in our leadership thoughts, words and action, translates to the strength of the culture of our team and the level of alignment toward the vision and goals of the business.
As a starting place, it is important that we get clear on the direction of the business, we need to define the reason for being, and fuel the team with a deep understanding of why the business exists. People are drawn to work with teams that have a shared sense of purpose. As entrepreneurs, it is our role to help define the “why” for the business and bring the passion for it to the team. The right team members will join the mission, and the wrong ones will quickly realize they are on the wrong bus.
Ensure every team member is aligned with your organization’s sense of purpose, and you’ll start seeing your goals met or surpassed this quarter.
Action Item #2: If your team’s passion is wavering, here’s how you can re-energize your team:
- Recommunicate your business “why” (your company’s core values, vision, and goals)
- Host social morale-boosting group activities that help form bonds among team members (many great holidays and celebrations are in the last few months of the year)
- Brand your company messaging and goals around the office (reminding people of your values, vision, and mission)
3. Maintaining the Pulse
Picture a team of dragon boaters. They are united, in sync, rhythmic in their actions and make it to the finish line and row in perfect unison. They are able to do this for 2 reasons.
- Communication is strong
- The actions are steady and consistent
Imagine your team then like a group of dragon boaters, all paddling in the same rhythm towards your business goals.
Successful teams that maintain strong results over time, have one consistent ingredient to their success, they maintain a strong, steady and consistent meeting pulse. The meeting pulse allows the team to stay on top of the most important things that are tracked, identify issues quickly and take action to remove roadblocks efficiently.
A healthy meeting pulse is:
- Disciplined, same day, same time and same people;
- Structured, follows a set agenda and manages time well;
- Action orientated, focused on solving critical issues with clear action steps and accountability.
In order to ensure that your team stays in unison and moves toward the shared goals and priorities of your business this quarter, it will be critical that you tune up and strengthen your meeting pulse.
Action Item #3: Are your meetings falling off the rails? Have they become redundant or frankly stopped happening? Now is the time to bring them back to life. It can be as simple as starting with a weekly meeting pulse for the leadership team and one for each core function of the business.
Here are some tips:
- Define the attendees, ensure only the critical people attend each meeting.
- Set a simple agenda that focuses on the key results and the critical issues that need to be solved.
- Solve the most important issues for the week, don’t take on too much. Focus on the highest priority issues.
- Keep track of all action items taken on during the meeting and check them off next week.
Assess your 3 P’s: People, Passion, and Pulse
As you move into the final quarter of the calendar year, this is an ideal time to assess how your business is performing in the areas of People, Passion and Pulse. Take each of the three P’s and rate your satisfaction with each one, using a scale from 1-5 (1 being poor and 5 being excellent). Be honest. Change starts with facing the brutal facts.
With these results in mind, set 3 priorities that you feel will have the greatest impact on the business and bring them to your team to discuss and implement. Small changes can result in meaningful results for your business. Remember, we are not chasing perfection, we are simply focusing on progress.
And as it goes for your business, so too do you start to see the effects of 3Ps in other realms of your life. With improvements in productivity and performance, you will have more time and energy for family relationships, community involvement and self-care (imagine that!!). Start small, start today!
Additional resources:
Having the right people in the right seats is one of six components of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (the EOS® Model) that I guide entrepreneurs, like you, through. Optimizing the six key components of this model (people, vision, data, process, traction, and issues) will help you break through the ceiling and see great business success.
If you are ready to learn more about how you can leverage the power of EOS to take back control of your business, increase valuation of it and get what you want, reach out here, let’s talk!
