By Verl Workman. What you do every day becomes who and what you are more quickly than you realize. As a business coach, I’ve learned to read businesses and their owners by their habits, systems, and processes. What you do tells the story of what your business will become. Here’s the hard part: mediocre habits lead to mediocre results.
That’s why I teach Predictable Greatness. Predictable Greatness was created to help professionals find the gaps in their business models that allow mediocrity to creep in. How can you tell if your business is destined for greatness or mediocrity? Here are some ideas.
Do You Have A System For That?
A recent national study on real estate found that only 56% of real estate professionals say they have systems or processes in place for business actions that are repeated more than three times. Systems are an indispensable part of Predictable Greatness. Systems allow for compounded effort, save time, and create operational excellence.
A lack of systems is a huge sign of bleed in a business. A failure to implement systems for repeated business activities is mediocre behavior because it creates inefficiencies and allows for a maximum of human error. To predict future greatness, systematize every task and make sure those in your organization who hold those responsibilities are trained to utilize and employ said systems.
Are You A Necessary Part Of Production?
Could you step away from production for 2 weeks without destroying your business’ profitability? If the answer is no, then you don’t have a business—you have a job. As a business owner, your focus needs to be able to be expanded to the bigger picture. You are leaving money on the table and stopping your business from being scalable if your business requires your boots on the ground to run.
You might be a fantastic producer and great at real estate, but if your business relies solely on your own efforts to be successful, you’re predicting mediocrity. A great business can be scaled and doesn’t rely solely on the efforts of any one person.
How Do You Hire?
Are you slow to hire good talent and quick to part ways with those who don’t fit your business’ culture, productivity expectations, or accountability metrics? It may take three or four hires to find the one right fit for a position. Good help can be hard to find—which is why keeping it is so important.
Be slow to hire. Hire carefully. Then, when someone has proven their ability, their loyalty, and their buy-in, reward them and be quick to give recognition. Recruiting and retention best habits are predictors of greatness.
In contrast, if you hire just anyone and wait too long for them to “develop” into the kind of employee you wish they were, you’re predicting mediocrity. Believe employees when they show you who they are and want to be. Train those who want to learn and show that through action. Set expectations early and follow through with decisive action.
These are just three examples of behaviors that I’ve found lend themselves to Predictable Greatness. There are many dozens more—from marketing, business planning, commission splits, culture, and daily huddles, the way you do what you do—and when you do it—are the true components of Predictable Greatness—or mediocrity.
