The 7 Responsibilities of Business Leadership In Any Economy

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…Success has a recipe and don’t screw with the recipe! The problem for many entrepreneurs and business people is that they try to mess with that recipe and cut corners. You can’t cut corners. The recipe of success is foundational and time tested. It is these foundational principles that I’m always harping on. Mastering the recipe elements, doing the basics before trying anything fancy is the key.

I spoke with the world renowned business development expert and bestselling author, Mr. Brian Tracy about the foundational recipe of business success. He believes, as I do, that business people and entrepreneurs alike can overcome any economic environment and be wildly successful, through the application of seven categories of business leadership. He stressed that whether international or domestic, the same principles of business leadership and success apply.

I believe that every business owner and entrepreneur must first discipline themselves to focus on these seven business leadership responsibilities before they can ever lead their businesses into success no matter the economic condition.

So, let’s take a look at these 7 Responsibilities of Business Leadership!

1. SET and ACHIEVE BUSINESS GOALS: What are your goals? Do you even have any? This is the key and most basic rule to business success. Some of the key business goal areas would include: Sales goals; Income goals; Profit goals; cash flow goals and margin goals.

 

2. INNOVATION and MARKETING: Every company today, no matter its size should have a single focus on sales. It’s quite simple really, you either have enough sales or you don’t have enough. Before we continue, let’s be sure we understand the difference between Marketing and Sales. Marketing is how you attract qualified leads for your product or service. Sales is when you convert those leads and make them customers. Here are some foundational and required questions you should always know the answers to:
   1. What is my conversion rate? How can we convert more?
   2. How do we get bigger sales?
   3. What specifically are our profit margins? How do we get better margins?
   4. What is my customers’ frequency of purchase?
   5. Do we have cost controls in place?
   6. Are we being pro-active in our sales efforts or simply waiting for prospects to come to us?

 

3. SOLVING PROBLEMS and MAKING DECISIONS: A key step in charging forward or dragging behind is in how well the business person or entrepreneur proactively solves problems and makes decisions. Ask yourself, and be honest, how well you respond to crisis? Do you keep calm and focus on a solution or do you form a committee and look for blame?

Here are some specific steps you can take in solving any problem;

• Define the problem or issue clearly, in other words, WHAT HAPPENED?
• What else is the problem? Be sure that you identify all issues, one at a time
• What is the best possible solution?
• What else is the solution? What other solutions are possible?
• MAKE A DECISION
• Take action immediately. You simply cannot wait too long or the situation will irreversibly affect you. The world and the marketplace and the consumer simply will not wait for indecision
• Continually compare what you gleaned from the decision and be prepared to make changes if necessary

 

4. SET PRIORITIES and WORK ON KEY TASKS: The old 80/20 rule has changed. Harvard research now calls this the 90/10 rule of productivity. This rule says that 10% of all that we do equals 90% of our results, so we must make sure at all times we are doing the right thing, the most important thing at that moment.

 

5. FOCUS ON THE MOST VALUABLE USE OF YOUR TIME: The LAW of 3 says that if you make a list of all that you do, that usually there are only three things that contribute the greatest value to your business. Ask yourself;
   1. If I could do only 1 thing and one thing only to move my business forward today/now, what would it be?
   2. If I could do only 2 things to move my business forward, what would it be?
   3. If I could do 3 and only three things to move my business forward what would it be?

 

6. SET AN EXAMPLE AND BE A ROLE MODEL: Remember the words of one of my very wise mentors….”Someone is always watching.” Be great in everything you do. Be great in how you walk, talk, smile, stand, sit in all phases of your life because someone is always watching and they may be important to you at some point in your life and career.

 

7. PERFORM AND GET RESULTS! : 50% of Fortune 500 managers were replaced in three years. Why? Simply poor performance. And in review the poor performance occurred because they did not fully understand the results that were expected of them or that they held themselves to. This is key. This is foundational to success. This is the recipe.

The bottom line for business people worldwide is that no matter the economic climate, SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE TAKE ACTION! If you’re having issues with sales and business performance, write or give me a call at any time. This is what I do as a Master Business coach and we’re open for business. And, as always,

Be GREAT!

Coach Dan