15 Time
Habits of the Most Productive Entrepreneurs
Here's a clear list of the 15 habits the most successful
entrepreneurs have cultivated.
Have
you ever wondered how the world's top
entrepreneurs get so much done in their days? After
all, they have the same 24 hour days and 7 day weeks, yet they consistently get
so much more done in that time.
Here
are 15 time habits of the best entrepreneurs.
1. Tap into the real power of
"Now!"
Do it now.
Decide it now.
Delegate it now.
Enjoy it now.
Finish it now.
Start it now.
The
best time masters have a habit of getting it done now, whatever it
may be.
2. Relentlessly focus on one thing at a time.
Multitasking is just not a pathway to
business success. Sure, you need to be flexible and able to shift your
attention from one thing to another, but the best time masters have cultivated
their ability to block out distractions and temptations and focus on one thing
at a time, and follow this most important thing until it is complete and producing
for their businesses.
3. Learn to be both decisive and to
purposefully delay decisions.
Some decisions should be put off until a
later day; they just don't need to be made now. Other decisions (and generally
the larger pool) should be made on the spot. One of the most powerful habits
you can cultivate is that of making solid decisions once you have the
information you need at hand. Putting it off usually just increases the time
that decision takes and the cognitive load it places upon you, without giving
you a better decision. So ask yourself, "Will having more time really
increase the quality of my decision?" If the answer is yes, delay it. If
the answer is no, make your call and get on with its implementation.
4. Do your most-feared thing first.
In the words of Mark Twain, "Eat that
frog." Just get it over with and you'll free up a tremendous amount of
energy with which to get on to the rest of your day. This may be a phone call
you've been dreading to make, or an email you were scared to write, or a team
member you need to sit down and talk with. Get it over with as early in the day
as possible.
5. Learn to say no to things that don't
advance the company and create little value.
This is perhaps the single greatest secret
top entrepreneurs leverage to create more value--they grow their ability to say
no to everything in their working life that doesn't move them toward their
important business goals. Less-successful entrepreneurs choose the comfort of
saying yes to low-value people and activities rather than do the uncomfortable
thing and fanatically guard their time so they can advance their companies.
6. Do one extra ...
Make one extra call ...
Send out one extra letter ...
Visit one extra prospect ...
Reach out to one more potential strategic
partner ...
When you add up all these one-extras, they
just might make the difference.
7. Learn when to cut your losses--too many
people hang on too long.
If you know a person, a strategy, a product,
or a partnership just isn't going to get you what you need, make the hard
decision early and free up your resources to find a solution that will.
8. Persevere--too many people give up too
early.
If you believe that a person, strategy,
product, or partnership will yield the results you want, and if you have
questioned the assumptions that would have to prove true for that person,
strategy, product, or partnership to succeed, then stay the course.
9. Narrow your focus.
As the best entrepreneurs grow their
companies, they narrow the things they do for their companies to those
few that create magnitudes more value. More is not better; better is
better. Develop the habit of narrowing your focus to those tasks and activities
that create the most value for your company and progressively hand over
everything else to your systems, team, and internal controls.
10. Learn to let go (delegate, defer, dump,
forgive).
11. Feed your winners; starve your losers.
This applies to every area of your company.
Cut your lowest half of marketing activities and invest that freed-up time,
talent, and money to reinvest in scaling the top 10 percent of your
marketing activities. Cut your lowest producing product lines, and invest the
freed-up resources in scaling your winning products and service lines. And stop
wasting your coaching time trying to make a bottom producer better; instead,
invest that time in making your winning team members even more productive.
12. Start your day by identifying your
"big rocks."
What one or two tasks, if you completed them
(or a part of them) today, would have the biggest impact on advancing your
company? These are your big rocks for the day and these deserve one to three
hours of your best time today.
13. Develop your integrity muscles by making
and keeping commitments.
Be on time. Finish what you said you would
do. And do all of this without excuses and even when you don't feel like it
because the best time masters know that your integrity is a muscle, the more
you exercise it the stronger it becomes.
14. Maximize your learning from your life.
After a project, event, or meeting, ask
yourself, "What went well? What would I do different next time? What are
the most important lessons for me to take from this experience?"
15. Wherever you are, be there!
Let's broaden our definition of success to
include joy, growth, and peace of mind. Then we can confidently say that the
most successful entrepreneurs are intensely present wherever they are. If they
are in a meeting, they are focused on maximizing the output of that meeting. If
they are working on a project, they are giving that project their best
attention. If they are at home with their family, they are fully present with
their kids and spouse. This last habit takes a good bit of practice, because
your mind will wander. When it does, notice it, and bring your attention back
to where you are and what matters most in that moment.
BY DAVID
FINKEL
http://www.inc.com/david-finkel/15-time-habits-of-the-most-productive-entrepreneurs.html?cid=em01014week24a
No comments:
Post a Comment