Belief creates the actual fact.
– William James
The Idea: It takes 66 days to create a new habit and even longer to break one. We change when we need to change. Necessity (not opportunity) births change. And to change a behavior, we must change what we associate to it, replacing it with something more compelling (and emotional) than the old behavior.
Is there a behavior that is getting the best of you? What lie have you associated to this behavior? The problem is not the behavior; it’s what you associate to the behavior. It’s our belief system which fuel our actions. Here are five facts to ponder, and an opportunity to reboot some old beliefs.
Fact 1: Grit Matters More Than IQ.
It is not surprising that forty-four percent of sales people give up after one follow-up customer call. The problem is that eighty percent of business relationships are forged after five follow-up discussions, and the process is only getting more complex. In most mid-size companies, for example, seven people or more are involved in the buying process.
Since seventy percent of people buy something to solve a problem, today’s leaders must be adept at uncovering and addressing hidden business problems. Are you tenacious enough?
Fact 2: Are You A Good Speaker?
We process images 60,000 times faster than words! That is how we think. Bullet points are for “shopping lists,” not experiential presentations. Bullet points put people in a trance.
The very best presenters and public speakers understand that a thirty-minute talk deserves fifteen hours of preparation. Great speakers bring emotion, stories, and their humanity, not bullet points.
Fact 3: Are You Guilty of Self-Deception?
A recent Harvard Business Review article shared that employees often times cope with the pressure of their jobs in three ways:
1) Forty-three percent just accept the pressure and try to make the best of it.
2) Twenty-seven percent act as if all things are well but are secretly trying to jump ship.
3) Thirty percent share their concerns honestly, even though many leaders are not open to their push back.
The research sponsored by Boston University and Harvard shows us once again that you have to work hard to uncover the truth. They found that seventy percent of people are either choosing not to discuss problems, or people bury them because they are emotionally retired. Are you getting the truth from others?
Fact 4: Are You Growing?
A few years ago, the Corporate Executive Board conducted an evaluation of over 500 companies that suffered from a serious growth stall. On average, their market capitalization fell by seventy-four percent and fell victim to one (or more) of three causes:
1) They didn’t respond to new, low-cost challengers or a shift in the market.
2) They fell into the trap of not innovating quickly (or consistently) enough.
3) They walked away from, or neglected, their core business.
Have you lost your way?
Fact 5: Are You Afraid?
A survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group showed that thirty-one percent of respondents have a fear of risk, which can lead to lack of innovation for a company. Today, that’s the same as failure. There is huge value to be found in failure, but only if one learns to embrace it fully.
A hundred years ago, the lifespan of a S&P 500 Company was sixty-seven years. Today it is fifteen years. Marketplace evolution is inevitable – and as is the nature of most things, failing to evolve with the market will result in extinction. Are you willing to embrace risk and learn from it?
It’s time to reboot!
