The future?*
Let’s get real: most of us don’t look further than the daily demands of running whatever business (or part of the business) we're in.
If we're pretty organised, the weekly WIP & review is something you come out of feeling somewhat in control of.
If we're super productive, we're not chasing our tails for the end of month figures.
If we're a demi-god of leadership, maybe we don't dread the quarterly targets and our annual "performance" (cough, cough) review.
But if you want your 2015 to be more than just good, but potentially be great and even go galactic (in whatever that means for you), what should you focus on that will help you start to future-proof you, your team, and your business in 2015?
To answer that I’ll ask two questions, name three megatrends and identify one key metric you must answer and pay attention to.
Question 1: WHY?
In late 2013, Simon Sinek went viral with his TED Talk that told you why’s where to start.
Without a Why, you can’t achieve what CultureSync’s classic book Tribal Leadership calls a noble cause.
How will your why create a future that’s compelling for your people and customers?
Question 2: HOW?
With a clear Why, the next ring of Sinek’s Golden Circles comes into play.
The Bible on How was written by Dov Siedman
The takeaway? How’s not just a question.
In a world of hyper-transparency where social media can destroy your rep in minutes, how is also the answer.
Founder & CEO of Thought Leaders Global, Matt Church, agrees and in his latest book Amplifiers, outlines what truly inspirational leadership looks like.
Where to start? With humility and measuring how trusted you are.
Mega-Trend 1: Well-Being
Some sobering Australian facts:
By 2020, it’s estimated that Depression will kill more people than cancer.
Currently it costs Aussie businesses around $11 Billion a Year.
Illicit drug use costs Australian employers about $36 Billion a year.
Australia is among the most obese nations on earth
Only 24% of employees in A/NZ are actively engaged, with 76% either not engaged or disengaged (16%). That means that just over 1 in 6 of your people is proactively hurting your team or business.
So there’s a lot of heat currently about creating a mentally healthy workplace.
But as a leader, you have to go deeper and understand what wellbeing is, how to create it and deliver a workplace that flows.
Try Martin Seligman’s Flourish as an intro, grab simple tools like Gallup’s Q12 and check out their seminal work Follow This Path to get a road map.
Mega-Trend 2: Productivity (aka Get Your S#!* Together)
Most organisations don’t know how to measure productivity either at a macro (whole of organisation) or micro (individual & team) level.
If you don’t:
A) Measure your execution quotient (XQ)
B) Decide what projects really matter; and
C) How you’re going to help people match their unique strengths to the challenges you need them to accept;
Then your mentally healthy workplace score is guaranteed to go down.
Mega-Trend 3: Wisdom
In the last 15 years we’ve seen big data, information management systems, business intelligence and knowledge management all trumpet themselves as a magic bullet to meet business challenges.
Over the next five years, watch as an increasing body of work on wisdom in business and life comes out. Aussie Mark Strom fired the first shot across the bows in his latest (and greatest, IMHO) book Lead with Wisdom.
How to get from the white noise that the world generates to what wisdom means for you and your business will be where it’s at.
And Finally, One Metric (Drum Roll, please…)
PROFIT
Yes, I know Mr.Sinek said Profit is a by-product of your Why.
But if we don’t measure it, we can’t manage it.
I believe that we need a new and simpler measure for profit.
Not Gross Profit, Net Profit, or any other accountant speak that sits on a balance sheet and complies with the ATO but doesn’t reflect the real position of your business.
What do I mean by Profit? It’s very simple.
Divide your Operating Cash Flow (OCF) by your Real Net Assets.
The number should be reflected as a %
If that number isn’t higher that what you can get from a term deposit, then it’s my sacred duty to inform you of two immutable truths:
1. You have bottlenecks in your business that are blocking massive growth
2. You won’t be able to sustain breaking into new markets, introducing disruptive innovations and keep your why and how at the core of your business.
Someone much wiser than me said it best: Turnover is Vanity, Cash flow is Reality, Profit is Sanity.
Take action on all of the above and you’ll increase the odds of creating the future you really want.
Be Wise,
N
*No, this isn't a disclaimer so I can't be sued - just to let you know that this is a LinkedIn-ified version of an article that originally appeared in the January edition of
My Business Magazine.
If you're a small business owner / entrepreneur, you might like to subscribe to the online version.