It is said that what gets measured gets done. In most any business culture, measurements, or more specifically, results and outcomes are the center of the universe, with an expectation that they will get done. Keep in mind, results are just that, results. Once results manifest, they are history, forever thus and no longer impactable. Results are the sum of what has been accomplished, the destination vs. the journey, the ship has sailed as they say, and therein lies the rub…
So yes, the rub. How else can one characterize obsession with the final score while paying seemingly less attention to the nine innings prior?
The baseball game for most any new business is growth in sales, and in sales, it is the day to day, week to week, and month after month behaviors and actions where achievement and productivity can be planned, implemented, and affected. It is where tactics and strategy can be distilled into a distinct approach, and when necessary, intercepted to apply meaningful course correction, mid inning, long before the game is over and the final score is on the board.
So why is this, this fervent attention to what really doesn’t matter versus focus on that which matters, the how we’re going to get there in the first place? Why don’t those responsible for culture and the pursuit of results attribute the same or more vigilance to where focus can have tangible and actual effect?
For new business, the required processes to achieve results become clear when the desired result is engineered in reverse, to the beginning of the new business development evolution, step one; the big bang if you like.
This is where an organization can identify and map out where new opportunities exist. Let’s say companies that they have yet to do business with or have not for a long time. From there, with not an enormous amount of effort, the relevant individuals responsible for making or influencing purchasing decisions can be identified, and from there, a plan can be created and implemented to facilitate connection.
Make no mistake about it, it is connection, specifically connecting with new potential clients, where the first inning is played. And not just “connection”, but meaningful connection, face to face and physically in the same room connection. In an environment where the exchange is not linear (think phone conversation) but rather in an environment where all dynamics (think posture, body language, direct eye contact etc.) can be exploited. If winning new business is home plate, then this is 1st base.
A well conceived and executed plan is intentional, deliberate, predictable, and interceptive if need be. It is a process centric approach to ensuring best possible control leading to outcome. Results centric, of course, is the direct opposite… Process centric will get you around all the bases and to home plate safe and sound. Result centric… well… who knows…