Peter Drucker once asked Jack Welch, the then newly appointed CEO of General Electric, these two questions: “If you weren’t already in this business, would you enter it today? And if not, what are you going to do about it?”
One thing Drucker insisted on was abandonment. If something had outlived its usefulness, was outdated, or no longer produced the right results, then he believed it should be abandoned.
I could stop writing right here, and we could struggle with Drucker’s two questions for the rest of the calendar year.
During the time Welch led General Electric, they were buying a business every day. I don’t want to challenge you to question the business you’re in. I want to shift your focus from the “this business” to “your activities.”
Your Habits
We are creatures of habits. We tend to do the same things over and over again. We get comfortable with our habits. And, unfortunately, this is true even when our habits no longer serve us.
Let me share with you one example. For five and a half years, I woke up every day at 5:00 AM and wrote a blog post. The waking up at 5:00 AM part is a wonderful habit, as long as you go to sleep early. But because I prioritized writing over everything else, I didn’t take care of my physical health. What served me well at one time no longer served me.
I am now with my personal trainer at 5:30 AM, and I had to abandon writing at 5:00 AM. I would prefer to write at 5:00 AM, but it isn’t the best long-term decision. So, I abandoned that habit, even if it means I have to write later.
In the past two weeks I have encountered people whose habits include making up work to do so they could avoid making the phone calls they need to make, avoiding conversations where money was at stake, and asking people to do things for them that they could easily do themselves (learned helplessness). These aren’t great habits, and they don’t serve you.
If these weren’t your habits, would you choose them now?
What Would You Change?
In a lot of the things I write, like blog posts and this newsletter, I suggest you do things. I suggest strategies, tactics, and activities that you might add to your existing repertoire.
In the last 5 1/2 years, I have written 2,250 blog posts in 150 newsletters. If there were a single idea in each of those that would be hundreds of things for you to do. That’s just crazy. As important as it is to do the right things it is equally important to stop doing the wrong things, the things that no longer serve you.
- What are the things that you habitually do, even though they no longer serve you?
- What are the negative habits that you’ve allowed yourself to fall into unconsciously, that keep you from performing at the highest level possible?
- What are two or three of the things that you should stop doing immediately?
Comment below to share your thoughts, your ideas, and stories. If you know someone who needs to stop doing something, forward this to them, and point them here to sign up: http://www.thesalesblog.com/newsletter.
Do good work this week, and I’ll see you back here next week!
Anthony Iannarino
P.S. Join me this Tuesday at the Social Selling Summit. You’ll hear from 30+ thought leaders, all of whom will help you improve your game when it comes to using the social tools.
Contributor Anthony Lannarino is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and consultant. He writes daily at www.thesalesblog.com and you can subscribe to his newsletter at www.thesalesblog.com/newsletter.