So how do you know when your plan is as well organized as it can be? That’s a good
question. Sometimes you think you’ve got it right, but you’re still falling short of the mark.
There are a couple of ways you can tell if you’re planning and organizing as smart as you could to reach your goals. Just ask yourself these two questions:
1. Are you able to find precisely what you need when you need it?
2. Are you able to accomplish what you have set out to do in the time frame you’ve set aside to complete it by?
If you can say “yes” to both of these questions, then you’ve probably got a pretty good method or approach already in place that works for you. If you don’t feel you’re reaching the goals you’ve set for yourself, then most likely organization is not your main problem. Either your goals aren’t realistic or you’re not properly following one or more of my other 13 rules.
Don’t worry, we’ll find out what’s slowing you down as you go through the book examining the rest of My 13 Rules so you can take corrective action to redirect your efforts.
If, on the other hand, you’re not able to answer “yes” to both of these questions, then we know it’s probably a lack of organization that’s the culprit. Take a closer look at what’s getting in the way of how you’re organized and make a change. I think that, growing up, my fear of failing was so great that I must have developed a natural instinct for preparing things ahead of time. Through trial and error, I finally arrived at an approach that I divided into two categories: WHAT I NEEDED and THE TIME I NEEDED TO DO IT.
Are things where they should be for convenient access?
Is all the background information on the project gathered neatly on your desk or credenza in a logical flow (by date or by topic)?
If your process requires several documents needing signatures, for example, are they in proper sequence?
Have you double-checked to make sure you’re not missing any key documents or steps?
Did you realistically think through the amount of time it takes to do something?
Have you scheduled the appropriate amount of time to complete your task or to meet objectives? Go through each step and determine the amount of time needed and see if the total adds up to a realistic amount of time.
Have you advised your client or colleague as to what the expectations are for this event in terms of time and outcome? Are they expecting an hour when in reality it’s going to take two or three? Get this on the table up front. Remember, no surprises.
Are people you may need to contact during your meeting (in finance or service, for example) easily or readily accessible for input without delay? Get them on board before they’re needed so they’re ready when you call.
If you learn to “look around the corner” like this, you’ll never be surprised at what you see when you get there. I found that this approach enabled me to always be prepared for the unexpected and allow for some flexibility, like a customer arriving a little bit late, while at the same time enabling me to do things very efficiently. The bottom line was, I was using my time
most effectively. That allowed me to make the most money in the least amount of time. Now that’s what I call effective TIME MANAGEMENT.
Obviously, if you work in an office environment or a place where many employees function together as a unit, and you discover that something is wrong with a procedure and needs management’s attention, by all means take it up to the next level.
However, before you start complaining to someone, make sure you first look at what YOU can do to create efficiencies that can get the job done better. Believe it or not, most people immediately go to someone else, like an immediate supervisor, with a complaint that could easily have been fixed right in their own office or department by thinking a little bit smarter than the next person. Don’t think that will go unnoticed by a supervisor, because it won’t.
Until you’ve made an honest effort to figure out how to fix it, it’s still your problem. You own
There were more than just a few times I took the initiative and did things that the dealer wasn’t crazy about, like letting prospects take home cars before actually purchasing them, or paying for minor repairs out of my own pocket to keep customers happy and coming back for more. I knew what I was doing, though. I was building trust and long-term relationships. I’ll go into more detail on that in Chapter 11, Lock up every opportunity.
I didn’t wait for someone to tell me if I could do something. If it felt right and helped me close a sale, I was not afraid to take the hit for making an on-the-spot decision.
Don’t misunderstand what I’m telling you here. I’m not asking you to make some drastic changes that affect how your company operates without going through the proper channels first. I’m talking about YOU and YOUR WORLD. If you let someone else direct the next step (in YOUR WORLD), it becomes their plan and their approach instead of yours—and you may not like their solution. On top of that, you’ve lost the opportunity to control the action in YOUR WORLD. You’ve let an outside force in when you may not have had to. You’ve also let them know they had to show you how to do something because you didn’t have the know-how or planning skills to solve the matter yourself. And don’t think that will go unnoticed.
Never stop refining your organization plan. Your goals and circumstances are continuously changing. What worked last year won’t necessarily get it this year. In the beginning of my sales career, I relied most heavily on cold calling using the phone. Before long I began to notice that direct mail was a very effective way to reach more people just from the stuff I would get at home in the mail. I recognized how effective this could be.
I started small, but eventually this led to thousands of people hearing from me every month by direct mail. It turned out to be one of my best weapons. I changed my tactics.
More on that in Chapter 9, Stay in touch.
Targets change and move. Yours will too. Keep your eye on them at all times. You should continuously be refocusing and organizing your plan to hit those targets when they do
change. For example, your financial objectives will change dramatically if you want to buy a new and larger home, or when your kids reach college age and want to attend a top university, or when they need you to foot the bill for a memorable wedding. As long as you plan where you’re going ahead of time, you’ll get there. If you don’t, then you’re LOST!
When I first started setting my personal goals, I found it easier to figure out what I could do in a week to save money or add income rather than trying to project two to three years out. I didn’t think in terms of months or years. I was thinking in terms of “the here and now.”
For me, a bag of groceries for the next two or three days was once a goal. Think near term at first. You’ll get a good and realistic picture of what you can do. Multiplying what you can do in a week by months and years becomes more attainable if you start with short steps.
Pretty soon you’ll know how long it will take to achieve those larger goals like, for example, buying a new home.