Bountiful Results

I salute you!  Thank you for your service.  Thank you for your sacrifices.

One of my mentors is a retired 22 year veteran of the Army.  The lessons that I have learned from him have been priceless.  The Military is either actively insuring our freedom or training to be prepared for service of our nation’s needs.  They are the epitome of planning for bountiful results.  They understand every critical issue that they may face and prepare tirelessly for success in the event that they need to apply the training.  In the business world, if we have a bad day, we may lose some money or a customer.  On the battlefield, a bad day may cost some lives.

Some of the less obvious contributions our military has contributed to society have been:

• A standardization of the way things are to be done.  A sequence to follow each and every time.
• Leadership Standards – They breed leaders that will own their accountability and not leave a man behind.
• Integrity and a code of conduct.  I personally have not met a disrespectful veteran.
• Work ethic -  See the mission through to the end.
• Teamwork – The impossible is accomplished when many work together as one.
• Loyalty – They run toward their responsibilities, instead of running away.

I am wiser and more prepared because of the lessons that LJ has shared with me.  Do you know a veteran that you can learn from?

Please give our veterans the respect they deserve.  They have already done it for you.  HUA!

The second component of getting bountiful results is The Plan. Like most plans it should have the key components such as the who, what, when, where & how long. I then start constructing SMART goals . The word SMART spells out an acronym.

S – specific, significant, stretching

M – measurable, meaningful, motivational

A – agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R – realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T – time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

I will not go into detail about each aspect.  Wikipedia has great information you can read.

One additional aspect of planning for bountiful results is identifying and planning for the critical issues of the task, event, or mission. I define critical issues as the most difficult or challenging part of getting great result.  For instance, when I made my most recent career change, the critical issues were the hundreds of procedures and policies that I needed to learn.  It wasn’t managing the people or interacting with all the new team members.  I will always remember what my trainer told me about taking in all of the information in such a short period of time.  He said, “It is like getting a drink of water from a fire hydrant.”

What are the critical issues that you are facing?  Identify them and make a plan to deal with them.  What could potentially pop up and create a road block while you are trying to achieve your goals?  Create a solution now and then act on your plan boldly knowing that you thought it through and believe that you have addressed the things that would keep you from achieving bountiful results.

How many times have you said to yourself, “Things are going smoothly and I am ahead of schedule, so I am going to quit and move on.”  I do not say that either.  It is the tough times, the road blocks and resistance that discourages us and often causes us to fall short of bountiful.

Deal with the critical issues up front and plan to succeed.

Going the extra mile is very rewarding. I firmly believe that bountiful results are found along the extra mile.  Average will not be found there. As a matter of fact,  my sign that reads; “NOTICE: No Mediocrity Beyond this Point!” should probably hang at the start of this extra mile.  The extra mile starts half way up that proverbial glass.  You know, the one that has generated all that debate about is it half full or half empty.  When I fill my glass up to the top along the extra mile, there is no debate, it is full.  Along the extra mile is where you will discover that your potential is far greater than you have believed.  You will see your results start to multiply.

My boss would ask me to contribute to the meeting and I would offer to run it for him.  I went the extra mile to gain those extra management skills and to gain comfort leading the meetings and other people.  Those journeys beyond what was required led to my promotion.  I also find great happiness in offering unsolicited praise and recognition.  Not only can it lift the other person up, it does wonders for your own morale.

The Thanksgiving holiday is approaching.  Seek out someone that needs a hand or needs help finding a reason to be thankful. Help them up and then ask them to walk the extra mile with you while you seek out the next person that needs a hand up.

The first moment of any action or process is almost always a need for the action or a process. Most results in our life start out as a thought or as an internal desire. This is the first component – The need. We must make our need as specific and detailed as possible. Here is an example of a need- I want to learn how to make a kite. As I start adding specifics and details to it, see if you can visualize the kite that I want to build. I want to learn how to make a red-white & blue box kite that has a three foot long tail. This kite must also be able to withstand 30 miles per hour winds. How many of you can see the kite that I want with the tail flipping in the wind?

Visualizing the realization of the need makes it so much more likely that we will get bountiful results. Did you know that most Olympic gold medalist had already visualized themselves on the top platform of the podium many times before it became a reality? The more detail we add to our need the clearer the vision will become. Which of these two examples of a need do you think will lead you to bountiful results?

1. I need to save money to take a nice vacation.
2. I need to save $600.00 in order to sit on the deck of a Lake House sipping my favorite drink while overlooking the  lake. The Sun is almost set and across the sun, a sailboat is passing.

Wow. I am ready to go on that vacation.

Now! We have transformed the need from a dot on the horizon into an in focus full color image in front of us. We do not want to stop there though. We also want to make sure that it is a challenging need that will result in great satisfaction when realized. Do you remember learning how to ride your first bike? There was some fear; there was some doubt, and a lot of wobbling and weaving going on. I am sure that the sense of accomplishment when you were able to stay upright and straight was incredible.  I know that you can site numerous other examples of your big accomplishments and the great feeling of satisfaction that it gave you. Great satisfaction is a motivator to be more and try even more challenging things.

I need you to splash a little color and detail onto your needs.

One day while working in the garden,  I realized that getting results at work and in life are so very similar to getting results from the garden.

The components for Bountiful Results are:

1. The specific and detailed need.
2. A plan that identifies the critical issues and has SMART goals.
3. Act on the need and plan boldly.
4. If not already in your possession,  acquire and utilize the tools and training necessary.
5. Develop sustaining motivation and/or accountability.
6. Effectively adjust and adapt as the circumstances and the plan changes.
7. The proper amount of time.

I have had successes and I have had failures.  When I reflect back on some of the failures, I am finding some common tendencies.  I did not develop enough motivation and was not accountable to the results(5).  I did not understand what the critical issues would be and when they popped up, I did not adjust to them(2)(6).

As I have shared with you before, I have read many articles and books on how to be motivated, how to execute, and even books on speed reading.  I didn’t understand why the new found information was not setting me free. I was not doing much with it during and after I read it.  All 7 components are necessary.

Give this a try.  Reflect back on some of your successes and failures – I am sure you will see how each of these components impacted your results.

I would love to read your perspective on getting bountiful results.

Why do so many people say “Thank God It’s Friday”?  Is it because it is pay day or the day of the week that is the most rewarding.  I know that there are many reasons.

I know from first hand experience, when we are wishing for Friday to come because we are miserable at work, the paycheck will never seem like it is enough to compensate us for what we perceive to be the anguish that we have to endure.  It seemed like a never ending spiral.

One day I was at a crossroad and had a really tough decision to make.  Do I quit my job and spare my sanity or do I continue to endure the madness for the sake of providing income for my family.  Luckily, I found a third option.  I remembered something that Zig Ziglar said about making two lists – one list of the things that we like about our job and another the dislikes.  I made the lists.  I did discover that the benefits and positives did outweigh the negatives.  I then took the negatives and broke that list into two groups.  One list that I could turn into positives by communicating with someone that controlled the negative.  For example, I resented being put on mandatory overtime.  I approached my supervisor and shared with him that I was willing to work overtime when necessary and if I could get an advanced notice of an increase in the work load, we could re-prioritize the schedule and even head off some of the overtime.  It was a win-win.  The other negatives I had to accept as part of the deal.

I also realized that most are not fortunate enough to love every aspect of their job.  It is called work and they do have to pay us to do it.

Can we make the most of our time at work?  Absolutely.  Happiness is not the money we earn.  Happiness is not even the title or status in the company.  It is the experiences that we have while doing our job.  Are you leaving a legacy?  Are you able to make another persons life easier or more rewarding because of what you do?  The answer to both of these is YES.  If you cannot see it, I would love to assist you.  You can e-mail me at john@bountifulresults.com

May all your results be Bountiful.

Growing up I wanted to be a firefighter, a scientist and a pro football player. Do you remember dreaming about the glamour and bigger than life careers?  I do not recall saying; “I want to be a “C” student.”

Outside of my office, I have a sign that reads:  “NOTICE: NO MEDIOCRITY BEYOND THIS POINT!”.  I did not post the sign to accuse anyone of being mediocre – I want to challenge any and all to be their best.  I want to look at the sign and know that I have the potential to be better today than I was yesterday if I bring my “A” game.

The first two components of getting results are the need and the plan.  The third component is action.  In order to make them bountiful results, you need to visualize the need, create a plan for success and act on it with boldness or with positive energy.  The fourth component of getting bountiful results is the motivation or the accountability to see it through to the end. In my opinion,  one of the biggest differences between mediocre and bountiful is the energy in the action, coupled with motivation to see it through.

You have unused potential.  You deserve bountiful.  Act on your plan with boldness and leave mediocre to someone else.