 | A Sense of Urgency |
How does the word “casual” fit into your performance style? What if you hit the coming year with a positive sense of urgency? Kotter makes an important distinction between a positive and negative sense of urgency. The urgency being called for is not a frantic, fear-based reaction. Rather, it is a purposed response that is fixed in an integrity-based approach to living. There is not much room for waste. For managing leaders, life is now filled with challenging changes. People have to be let go. People lose their jobs. However, managers I have heard from have suggested that many, if not most, of the people who have lost their jobs were not performing people anyway. So, why would people who were not doing the job be on the job anyway? Leaders managing into ’10 and beyond must stay focused on performance responsibilities and realities. Non-performing people have no place on a professional performance team. Selling professionals know that their selling success depends upon the quantity and quality of people they consistently contact. Selling teams need to be built around professionals who choose to get, and stay, fit for the challenge. Casual is an approach that simply cannot characterize a 21st century life performance.
Confusion seems to reign as we move toward ‘10 and for good reason. We are facing this New Year with a new President and a deep economic crisis. We are still at war and people continue to be hungry and dying of thirst in the world. Global warming seems to be a reality and green strategies do not represent a quick fix. We have seen oil prices go out of control and then plunge to significant lows in a short period of time. We stay confused about the energy question. The stock market represents no marketable security and yet tax payers are being asked to make significant investment in failing companies who represent that insecurity. Capitalism and free enterprise have created destructive and criminal results. So, what do we do? We respond. We respond by doing the things we can do. We choose not to spend money we do not have. We choose not to become so focused on retirement for tomorrow that we become non-engaged employees today. We choose not to focus on accumulating wealth for ourselves when we see people close by living in a crippling poverty. We choose not to live as though we are entitled to be served and live with privilege. We choose not to sacrifice honesty on the altar of necessity. We respond. We respond by doing what we know we need to do today, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. We eat less. We waste less. We love more. We serve more. We learn more. We lead more. We choose not to play the victim. We choose not to make excuses. We choose not to blame others for choices we have made. Confusion is a state of mind. Clarity is the preferred option to confusion. Get clear about who and why you are. Then, respond!
So, what if you were to substitute clarity for confusion as you enter ’10? What if you have in place a plan for your life and work that keeps you on course? What if you seek someone out as an accountability partner who can help you stay clear about the important things? What if you choose to read something every day that helps you keep your mind straight? What if you get healthier than you have been in years? What if you get more connected to the people in your world? What if you become the leader your world needs you to become? What if you actively love and serve people more? What if you get clear about who God is and who you are and stay that way? Let’s do it! Let’s not just talk about it. Let’s do it! Let’s make this year a benchmark year for our lives. Let’s respond to change. It won’t just happen. Let’s engage it with a sense of purpose. Life really does require an urgent response. Let’s give it one!
Allen Tappe is the owner and president of The Tappe Group. He is a professional speaker, trainer, and coach whose mission is to equip people with the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve the success they choose to pursue. His style is interactive and listener friendly while his message is challenging and inspiring. Tappe is a member of the National Speaker's Association and has been featured as the keynote speaker for various conventions and workshops. Tappe is the creator of Purposed Performance, an operating system for personal performance, growth, and development. The anchor message of Purposed Performance that Tappe consistently teaches to all audiences is that an individual must "cross the line" from the bondage of being a victim to the freedom of being a purposed performer in order to achieve any real life success. Tappe provides valuable strategy and useful tools to help individuals make that vital choice. Tappe explains the Purposed Performance operating system in his two books, "The Power of Purposed Performance" and "Selling Real Estate on Purpose". For the past twelve years, Tappe has worked with over 40 different industries and professions, addressing challenges ranging from cultural development and communications to sales and customer service. He has worked with a diverse client base that includes doctors and lawyers, as well as teachers and accountants. He has worked with technology specialists, along with corporate executives. His diverse background allows him to relate to people right where they live and work. Tappe began his professional career as a collegiate tennis champion, then later became a winning collegiate coach. His background includes mortgage banking, counseling and ministry, real estate, sales training and management. He is a graduate of Abilene Christian University. He has been married to Barbara Tappe for the past 34 years. He is the father of three beautiful daughters and has two exceptional grandchildren. You can learn more about his by visiting his website www.tappegroup.com or by emailing him at allen@tappegroup.com