Have a Competitive Edge Without Competing

Getting caught up in the rat race is a sure way to waste time. The rat race is an unhealthy competition based on the incorrect belief that there is a limited supply of resources in the universe. The rat racer believes that success must come at the expense of the competition. I am reminded of the famous story of two store owners named Joe and John that were in a daily battle for sales and customers. Their businesses were across the street from each other, and if Joe got a sale, then John would try to get two. 

One night, Joe had an encounter with a Magic Genie. The Genie informed him that he would be teaching him a lesson by granting any request he had with the condition being that John would get double of whatever he asked. If Joe asked for wealth, John would get double the wealth. If he asked for a new customer, John would get two new customers. After much thought, Joe made the request to be struck blind in ONE eye! This humorous illustration teaches us that an unhealthy competition can cause you to lose your VISION and waste valuable time. How can you have a competitive edge without competing? 

The best way to gain a competitive edge without competing is to find someone who has the results that you desire and duplicate their processes. In professional football, the team that wins the Super Bowl is usually the most copied team in the league. The other teams observe their practices, playbooks, and processes because they realize that the fastest route to success is to duplicate a proven system. I recommend the following two areas as great avenues for duplication:

1. Coaches
Having regular conversations with a coach who is an expert in your field will save you valuable time. There are two important keys to consider when looking for a coach. The first key is to find one that has the results that you desire. Think about it, if you aspired to start a business, hiring a coach that has successfully started twenty businesses would save you valuable time and keep you from making expensive mistakes. Secondly, make sure the coach demonstrates a pattern of continuous learning. Many successful coaches are also clients of a coach that they seek emulate. You would gain the benefit of their mentor’s knowledge and experience as a bonus. 

2. Colleagues
Whenever we see a colleague succeeding in an area that we aspire to, the normal reaction is to try to compete with them. Instead, we must apply my WHO/WHY/WHAT formula by asking the following questions: Who is consistently the top performer in your company or market? Why do they always produce the best results? What do they do that you could duplicate, to get a similar result? The best way to find out what the top performer does is to ASK them. I apply this formula whenever I go into a new business situation. It has saved me valuable time and kept me from “re-inventing the wheel.”

Seeking out a coach and learning from a successful colleague will save you valuable time and give you a competitive edge without having to compete. If you found this week’s tip to be helpful, please share it using the social media buttons at the bottom of the page. 

Eric M. Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner 

Focus Forward

“Failure is in my history, but greatness is in front of me.”

This past weekend I was watching Back To the Future starring Michael J Fox. In this classic movie, Michael’s character Marty Mcfly, and his scientist friend traveled through time in their DeLorean automobile time machine. If they were unhappy with their results, they hopped in the DeLorean and went back in time to make corrections. Their DeLorean gave them the opportunity for a “do over” if they made a bad decision.

Have you ever made a hiring decision, and after 30 days, wished you had a DeLorean to hop into? Or maybe you gave a sales presentation, but were unable to land the account. What about the time you interviewed unsuccessfully for that position and had regrets about how you answered the questions?

I have experienced each of these setbacks and can relate to the regret that you feel when they occur. When you hang on to the regret you waste time that should be invested in moving forward. The question becomes, how do you maintain a forward focus in spite of a painful past?  The answers below will help you to make better use of your time and experience less stress.

Inquiry
The inquiry I am referring to is with you.  Whenever you experience a setback, you should make an inquiry by asking yourself the following question: “What did I learn from this experience?”  Next,  make a list of your lessons learned and anytime you are tempted to beat your self up, refer back to your list.  Noted philosopher Edmond Burke said these very famous words: “Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."  Focusing on the lesson will position you for future success and keep you from repeating the same mistakes.

Improvement
The second key to maintaining a forward focus is to commit to daily improvement. Every day you should do something to get better at your craft and move towards your calling. For example, I have a daily reading schedule that results in me reading three books a month. If I had a major setback three months ago, I don’t dwell on it because I realize that I have read nine books since then. I am smarter today than I was three months ago based on what I have read.

According to modern medical research, the cells in our bodies completely regenerate and renew themselves every 11 months. This means that you are a new creature and the mistakes of your past were performed by the OLD you! Referring to your lessons learned list and committing to daily improvement will help you to maintain a forward focus and make the most productive use of your time.

Sincerely,

Eric M. Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner 

Have an Attitude of Gratitude

“It is impossible to feel blessed and stressed at the same time.”

As an up and coming executive responsible for multiple business locations, I was trained to make fixing problems a priority. I was taught to “manage by exception” by spending the majority of my time focusing on the shops that ranked in the bottom third in sales results. Simply moving the bottom third to the middle would have a dramatic impact on the overall results of the organization. We had record setting sales results and I received nothing but praise from my superiors. 

Unfortunately, my intense focus on problems was turning me into a pessimist. My ego took a major hit as I read the anonymous feedback surveys from the managers that reported to me. To my surprise they perceived that I was picking on them and that I failed to recognize their progress. To make matters worse, my stress level was at an all time high and I was on the verge of burnout. What could I do to reverse this trend? 

Thank You List
The main source of my stress was that I only focused on my problems without recognizing the positives. The solution was to embrace gratitude on a personal level. I started making a list and reflecting on everything in my life for which I was thankful. Areas such as my faith, family and friends were included. I would review this list before starting my day. I was amazed at how my productivity increased and my stress levels decreased. I became more proactive once I adopted the right perspective. 

The Dime Test
Once I adjusted my perspective, I was able to address my team. I used a best practice known as the “dime test” to make sure I recognized the positives with my people. I would take ten dimes and place them in my left pocket. Every time I thanked one of my managers, I would switch a dime to my right pocket. My goal was to end each day with ten dimes in the other pocket. After about twenty one days, saying thank you became a habit and I no longer needed the dimes. 

According to a University of Pennsylvania study, an optimist will outperform a pessimist on the job or in a business situation by as much as 50%. Making a thank you list and adopting the dime test will generate optimism, increase your success, and lower your stress. 

Sincerely,
Eric M. Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner 

Don’t Let Perfect Become the Enemy of Progress

Nobody can do it like Eric! This was my motto early into my career as a District Manager in the automotive industry. I was responsible for five hundred employees and had seventeen managers that reported to me. My desire to delegate was low because I felt that if I wanted it done right, I had to do it. My days started early in the morning and ended late at night. I had limited free time and large amounts of stress. 

I then made the following discovery that helped me move from burnout to breakthrough: My desire for perfection was the root cause of my failure to delegate. I had allowed perfect to become the enemy of progress. So how can you avoid making the same mistake that I did?  Below are two steps that will help you to become a more effective delegator and break the perfectionist habit. 

Calculate Your Time Value
The first step that helped me to become more willing to delegate was to calculate how much my time was really worth. Start by taking your desired annual income and dividing by 52 weeks. For example, let’s assume that your annual goal is to make at least $110,000. One hundred and ten thousand divided by fifty two is two thousand one hundred fifteen dollars. Next, you take the weekly dollars and divide by the average hours you work in a week. If you work a 50 hour work week your time is worth $42/hour. Now that you know how much your time is worth, you can use this to determine if the task is worthy of your time. If the task is not a $42/hour task, then it can be delegated. 

I am often asked by business owners that work alone if they should hire a personal assistant. We have done the math and determined that their time is worth more than $60/hour in several cases. Paying someone ten dollars an hour to do the book keeping, make follow up calls, and schedule appointments is a smart investment that has created more time for them. 

Create a Follow-Up System
The lack of a consistent follow-up system is a major reason for the fear and failure to delegate. Many an entrepreneur has been burned by a task that they delegated to an employee that never got done. The key to successful delegation is to establish how you plan to follow-up BEFORE you assign the task. For example, most email providers allow you to schedule reminders on emails that you have sent that have not been responded to. You can set it up so that you get an email in your inbox in 24 hours that reminds you that you need to follow-up. 

When I was a District Manager, I used my “How will I know?” follow up system whenever I delegated an important task. I would ask the manager “How will I know when this is done?” They would tell me that they would call me to let me know. “Great, when can I expect your call?” was my next question. I would then put it on my phone calendar and set an alert that reminded me to follow up. 

Calculating your time value and creating a follow up system will make you a more effective delegator and help you to break the perfectionist habit. Stay tuned for the next Twiggs Time Tip. Or read more in the world’s most complete Time Management EBook for executives and entrepreneurs. 

Don’t Let Technology Kill Your Time

“A failure to properly automate can cause you to procrastinate.”

The lack of technology killed my time. The year was 1992 and I was an undergrad at Hampton University. I wanted to make a phone call and decided to go the pay phone. I realized that I did not have quarter and had to go get change. When I got back, there was someone on the phone so I had to wait. 

Later in the day, I got a letter from a friend who had transferred to a school in Wisconsin. She updated me on how she was doing and wanted to hear back from me. There was no Facebook, email or texting, and I could not afford the long distance bill. My only option was to write her a letter, drop it in the mailbox, and wait. 

That evening, the pay phone was finally free so I decided that I would make a collect call to my parents and ask them to send me some money. The line was busy and since there were no cell phones or Skype service, I had to . . . wait. 

Now that we are in 2012, technology has eliminated all of my time management issues, right? 

Technology is like a gun. When used properly, it can protect your time and add to your life. Just like a gun, technology in the wrong hands can kill your time and keep you away from your family. Think about it, you can spend your entire day responding to emails, answering your cell phone, and communicating on social media. 

Have you ever been out at a restaurant in the evening and seen a guy who is with his family, but spends his entire time on his smartphone? If you can relate to that guy, the tools below are for you. They will help you to effectively use technology and get your time back:

1. RescueTime
   RescueTime is a free app that allows you to measure how much time you spend on email, the Internet and social media. It gives you daily and weekly productivity scores based on the amount of time you spend surfing. You can adjust the settings and program predetermined time limits for any website. Once you exceed your limit the app will deny you access to that site. For example, if you feel you spend too much time on Facebook, you can set a limit of 15 minutes per day. Once you exceed your limit, Rescue time will deny you access.

2. HootSuite
   If you are like me and use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, the HootSuite app can save you a great deal of time. It will allow you to send one message that will update on all of your social media accounts at the same time. HootSuite also gives you the option to schedule your posts in advance.

3. Sanebox
   This nifty service will help you keep your e-mail inbox clean by creating separate folders for unimportant messages. Sanebox will also allow you to create an “unsubscribe folder” where you can move any newsletter or blogs that you no longer read and unsubscribe to multiple lists with one click. You can also program follow up reminders for emails you've sent that haven't received a response.

There you have it. All three of these services are free and can save you a great deal of time.