Are You a Leader or Follower?

 

Are you a Leader or Follower?

Business leaders do what their businesses demand them to do!  Business followers do what they want and what feels comfortable!  To be a Business Leader you need to be a focused business planner – are you… or do you simply avoid it?

The two things that most business owners struggle with is planning ahead and doing things in order of importance.

 

Without being too academic, leadership theory states that “thinking ahead and prioritising marks the differences between being a business leader or simply a follower.”  The difference between achieving business success or simply surviving!

 

You’ve probably heard of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule, which occurs in many aspects of life. For example, when reading a newspaper, 20% of the paper contains 80% of the news… you may have found also that 80% of all complaints come from 20% of customers…

 

So… turning it around, when it comes to your business priorities, 20% of your priorities will give you 80% of your outcomes. But, only IF you spend your time, energy, money and staff on the top 20% of your priorities!

 

Do this and get a fourfold return in productivity, what would that mean in your business! Every business leader needs to understand the 80/20 rule as it applies to their products or services, their customers, their staff and their leadership.

 

Products or services – Have you identified the 20% of your offering that gives you 80% of your profit?  Have you even measured it?  What are you doing to sell more of these lines?

 

Customers – Have you identified the 20% of your customers who give you 80% of your business? What strategies have you put in place to care for them?

 

Team - Now think about your staff, have you identified the top 20% of your team. Do you spend 80% of your “people time” with these staff? What can you do to develop them to their full potential?

 

Leadership - Ask yourself, what do I have to do in my business that no one else can do?  These are likely to be some of the more important things that you have to do… so you should be spending 80% of your time on the most important things.

 

Remember a leader can give up everything except final responsibility. You can decide whether to be reactive or proactive!

 

The question becomes not…  How will I be busy?   but… How will I invest my time?

 

Do this and watch your productivity and personal satisfaction rise to new heights!

 

 If you want to talk this over with a professional Business Coach, why not give me a call?

 

Neville Solomon

Mobile +27 74 127 6439

Business Coach