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| Solid Strategies =
Solid Success
Nido Qubein
| Success results from a solid strategy.
Even the greatest ideas are of little value unless they are backed up by a practical and workable plan of action. The word strategy comes from an ancient Greek term which literally means to be a general leading troops into battle. Setting up a good strategic plan involves five steps:
The first step is to translate your vision into measurable and achievable goals.
You decide specifically what you want to accomplish during the next five to ten years - those are your long range goals. Next, you break those goals down into intermediate goals - things you wish to accomplish during the next six months or year. Then you break them down further into short term goals covering the next month or six weeks.
The second step is to break your goals down into achievable objectives.
Dr. Robert Schuller says, "Yard by yard life is hard, inch by inch it's a cinch." Working by objectives helps you concentrate on what's important, instead of spinning your wheels on those things that seem urgent, but don't lead to your long term goals. Objectives add purpose and direction to all your activities.
The third step is to set up your strategies for accomplishing your objectives.
Strategies are the specific ways you will go about achieving your objectives. The more clearly thought out they are, the more effective they will be.
Fourth, you choose each task you must complete each day to achieve your goals.
This is where most planning breaks down. We tend to leave it vague - thinking that, as long as we are working hard all the time, we are achieving our goals. Most people I talk with are extremely busy - and most of them are working hard to do things right. The problem is they are not doing enough of the right things - the things that will help them achieve their goals. It is not enough to merely list each task you need to do; you need to build it into your schedule. So many hours every day you are working on specific actions that will lead to accomplishing your definite objectives.
And, finally, build in the monitoring mechanisms that will help you keep track of your progress toward implementing your plan.
It's one thing to have a "gut level feeling" that you must be doing something right because you are always working hard. But it is far better to design simple mechanisms to let you know precisely how much progress you are making. Look for a few key indicators that will help you stay on track, and monitor those like a doctor would monitor the vital signs of a patient. It doesn't matter how much activity is going on. What matters is how well you are doing at achieving your objectives.
One good example would be that you would target to contact three people each day to generate new business. At the end of the day, you'd know whether you have achieved that goal. Your plan is not complete until it has been communicated satisfactorily to every person in your organization who must help to implement it.
Here are some guidelines to help you communicate your vision and plan to your staff, associates and others:
- Involve others in formulating the plan. People tend to understand and support plans they help create.
- Clearly identify roles and expectations. Every person needs to know clearly what you expect and understand the basis on which his or her performance is to be judged.
- Make sure everyone understands all deadlines and schedules. A good plan has teeth in it, and the only way to give it those teeth is to set definite deadlines for specific actions.
- Count on the plan for intrinsic motivation rather than seeking to motivate people with gimmicks. If the plan is built around the strengths and personal motivations of the people who must execute it, and has its own built-in rewards, motivation will take care of itself. If not, you cannot come up with enough gimmicks to make it work.
- Get feedback to make sure people understand exactly what you expect. It's not very helpful to say, "Does everyone understand the plan?" A far better approach is to say, "Tell me what you understand the plan to be and how you see yourself fitting into it."
Meet Nido Qubein who is chairman of an international consulting firm and recipient of the highest awards given for professional speakers including the Cavett (known as the Oscar of professional speaking), the Speakers Hall of Fame, Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans and The Order of the Long Leaf Pine (North Carolina’s highest civilian honor) and Sales and Marketing International's Ambassador of Free Enterprise. Toastmasters International named him the Top Business and Commerce Speaker and awarded him the Golden Gavel Medal. He served as president of the National Speakers Association which has a membership of 4,000 professionals and is the founder of the National Speakers Association Foundation where the highest award for Philanthropy is named for him. Nido Qubein has been the recipient of many honors including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, a Doctorate of Laws degree, and induction into Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for business leadership.
Nido Qubein’s business savvy led him to help start a bank in 1986 and today he serves on the board and executive committee of a Fortune 500 financial corporation with 155 billion-dollars in assets. He is also chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 218 stores in 42 states. He serves on the boards of several national organizations including the La-Z-Boy Corporation, one of the world's largest and most recognized furniture retailers.
Nido Qubein is president of High Point University, an accredited undergraduate and graduate institution with 3,500 students from 50 countries and 44 states. He has written numerous books and recorded scores of audio and video learning programs including a bestseller on effective communication published by Nightingale-Conant and Berkley. He is an active speaker and consultant addressing more than 100 business and professional groups around the world each year. He doesn't just talk business, he lives it. He is an entrepreneur with active interests in real estate, advertising, and banking.
His foundation provides scholarships to 48 deserving young people each year. To-date the Qubein Foundation has granted more than 600 scholarships, worth over six million dollars.
Money magazine claims, "Qubein puts on a memorable program, gliding from one anecdote to another. Nearly 70 percent of his business comes from companies that have utilized him before. His client list is a 'who's who' of blue chip corporations."
Bizlife magazine says, "He coupled his charismatic style and positive nature with his acquired knowledge of human relations and communication...and built a multi-million dollar, multifaceted consulting enterprise – proving the American dream is still alive and well." |
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