How to win GOLD in the Business Olympics
Many athletes say the real competition is with yourself. Being the best you can be is the way to get gold.
You can hear this loud and clear is their post win media interviews.
Like in business – know-how, putting in the hours, coaching, mindset, preparation and having a great team around you is essential.
Prioritisation of activities is key. Doing what’s aligned to gold is more likely to get you gold. Here’s a quick tool to audit and refocus your efforts and win gold in your business.
Read On ↓
Take a single sheet of paper (ideally A4 or bigger) and fold it into 3, like you would fold a letter to fit into a standard envelope.
*or open a new document on your computer/device if you prefer to do this electronically.
1. Write the heading GOLD in the top portion.
Now list all the activities in your business that lead to the biggest and best results. These are the things you know generate the business you want now and give you the fastest growth in the direction you want to head. It could be things like speaking with qualified prospects, meeting with existing clients, a proven marketing campaign, strategic networking, inspiring your team and keeping knowledge updated to remain at the forefront. Whatever they are for you, these are the activities to focus most on.
2. Next write the headine SILVER in the middle portion
…and write all the activities that still generate business but maybe aren’t optimal, or activities that are needed to support the gold level activities. This could include things like posting and contacting people in a targeted way on LinkedIn, keeping your brand visible to your audience, refining your CRM and some types of planning activities. Again, these will depend on your unique business. The temptation is to spend too much resource on silver activities as they often tend to take less effort or require a lower level of courage.
3. Next write the headine BRONZE in the lowest portion
Here list all the activities currently happening in the business that are adding no significant value to your business growth. They could be back office activities, maybe things that were once needed or things that take a long time to do but generate no or little business. This could include day to day admin, unecessary emails and other communications, meetings with no clear purpose, aimless social media, outdated processes, creating content that has little egagemement, perfecting things beyond what’s needed and spending time nurturing low value prospects.
Go through the lists and ask…
- Which gold activities do I / we need to do more of?
- Where do I best direct my resources?
- What can I drop from the business entirely?
- Which silver and bronze activities do I / we need to do less of?
- What can I delegate or outsource more efficiently?
Claim YOUR position on the central podium!