I wanted to share my experience of what “DONE” looked like as I completed my goal of writing and publishing a book last year. I think you’ll find my story one that you can relate to because it will echo similar experiences you may have had with projects in your business.

“What does DONE look like?”

It’s one of my favorite phrases to teach a leadership team. When we use it in Rock setting, we say, “if it is a SMART Rock, we know what DONE looks like.” It reduces ambiguity and increases clarity (hallmarks of a healthy team) and we’ve essentially all made an agreement about what we will FOCUS on for the next 90 days.

For the last nine months, I’ve had my own experience with “what DONE looks like.” And lest you think I had a bun in the oven (nine month terms bring back memories of LONG ago), I was actually writing a book! Now, this is no surprise to those who know me well, and you probably got a little sick of me telling you it was “done!” Being a 9-QuickStart on the Kolbe scale and a low C on my Culture Index Profile (Rainmaker!), no one has been more anxious than me for this project to be actually DONE!

What I’ve learned (and what many of you are also learning) is that there is DONE, there is DONE, DONE and finally, there is DONE, DONE, DONE!
What my stages of “Done” looked like:
* April 15th – The idea for the book solidified. (And taxes paid, just like you!)
* July 12th – The skeleton and content were complete, but then I had another idea: the book would be MORE USEFUL with tools! It was done, but not complete. (Do you ever “add on” to your Rock? I see you smirking!)
* August 5th – I was convinced I had the best book that would ever come out of MY brain; I was DONE! So, I sent it to some test readers for feedback. (Anyone ever got the “Well, I haven’t approved that yet!” look from a leadership team member?)
* September 30th – I had incorporated the feedback and the book went through its fifth full edit. (Thanks, Keen Editing Service!) I celebrated that it was DONE, DONE! Then, it had to be produced. (Have you ever said, “Hey, what did we ever do with that Rock we started in Q1?” or “Now we need to implement the Rock . . . oh crap!”)

Finally, on December 16th, the cover and interior were ready to PRINT! Is that DONE, DONE, DONE?

I could go ON and ON about the various stages of DONE, but to keep myself sane during this process, I made 90-day Rocks that helped me meet my eventual objective: a book, in print, available for others to use to add value to their enterprise.

My 90-day rocks and due dates helped me stay focused on my objectives. My rocks were self-imposed, and my assistant, Lindsey, kicks my butt if I’m off track (thanks, Lindsey!). I also learned the difference between FINISHED and PERFECT. During the feedback process, I felt paralyzed as to what feedback to take and what feedback to reject. I knew I wanted a simple, authentic and actionable book. (I knew what DONE looked like to me, but I was fearful of OWNING it!) Some readers said I should go deeper into theory, some said I should add more examples, some said I shouldn’t have a casual “kick your ass” tone, others said I needed to make it more professional. My coaching “idol,” Steve Chandler, graciously spent time with me on the phone and he said, “Jill, it will never be perfect, but you can DECIDE when it is finished.”

Call it DONE, or call it FINISHED. I’m happy to announce that by focusing on my Rocks each quarter, and saying NO to a lot of other crap, the book is DONE, DONE, DONE. The book is now available for sale on Amazon!

My next quarter’s rock is to get this book into the hands of people it can help. And that means creating some buzz. I invite you download a sample chapter by texting the word “chapter” to 44222, and our automated system will get it to you right away.

Why the free chapter? Because this quarter’s Rock is to sell the dang thing! Thanks in advance for creating buzz! Keep reading for a quick summary of why you need this book.

Earn It! A Summary:

When one of your employees asks for a raise, does your inner voice scream, “UGGHHH!”? For most bosses, this is reality. You feel pressure to “take care” of your people, but at the same time, you feel pressure from the P&L Statement. Earn It! is your solution! The next time someone asks you for a raise, hand them the book and say, “I’m glad that you are looking for opportunities for growth, please read this book and come talk with me in a few weeks.”

In Earn It!, your employees will find skills and tools that will help them EARN the raise they want by PRODUCING MORE MEASURABLE VALUE. They’ll learn (in a fun, simple, take-charge way) how to SEE the big picture of the company, SAY the things that need to be said, SOLVE issues within their departments and SERVE others by teaching them to be productive, too. The employees who take this opportunity will become the STARS of your company, freeing you up to do the strategic leadership you’ve always wanted to do.

Here’s to OWNING your DONE.

I live in a family of nerds!

I’m surrounded by technical geniuses that are constantly inventing, building and tinkering with everything. One day, the boys were stumped. I kindly offered to help. They assured me that a technical approach was their only path to solving the problem. It was clear they thought, “How can she possibly help?”  After some prodding, they gave in and explained the situation. I was quickly able to suggest an intermediate step that allowed them to overcome their obstacle.

Am I a technical genius? Definitely NOT! I used strengths they didn’t have to see things more broadly. They were stuck in the weeds, and my outside perspective helped them find a path to success – much to their amazement. The problem was solved with balanced strengths.

Too often in business, we structure our company in silos. Engineering does their thing, Marketing does their thing, etc. We dismiss the power of a true leadership TEAM, each with unique strengths to help others overcome their obstacles.

Sound familiar? Here are some questions to consider that will help you explore whether your leadership team is a group of siloed experts, or functioning as a leadership team:

1. Has Marketing created campaigns that Sales can’t or won’t use?
2. Is Sales making promises that Operations can’t keep?
3. Is Finance creating policies that create bottlenecks?
4. Are your Leadership Team meetings dreaded and unproductive?
5. When one department has an issue, does it lead to finger-pointing and a blame game
6. Hallway conversations include statements like, “Ops better figure this out.” and “Not my job.”

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, you may simply have a team of experts. Imagine what results you could get from a group of leaders that were truly a team, using each other’s strengths to solve issues! Take this insight as a driver to improve team communication, and begin shifting the thinking from “me” to “we.”

The cartoon character Maxine is copyrighted by ©Hallmark Licensing, Inc.

A few weeks ago, I pulled into a convenience store that had a banner out front touting “Best Quality, Fastest Service and Lowest Prices”… When I went into the store it was dirty, and the prices were double what I expected.   I even had to go find the cashier!
The Sales and Marketing arm of this store did their job of getting me in the door – but Operations didn’t deliver on the promise.
Great companies know how their offerings are unique from their competitors.   When there is nothing unique, the company can only compete on price.   The Sales team regularly uses the company’s uniqueness to promise target market clients that they’ll get what they want. Other common marketing terms for this are “differentiators” and “value proposition.” It’s what makes your company different and unique. Your “uniques” resonate with your target customer, and engage them to do business with you.

In his book “The E-Myth”, Michael Gerber teaches us that what our clients really want is a consistent product.   They want to have certainty that they’ll be treated the way you promised them they would be, over and over again.   When this does not happen, customers come in the door…. but head right back out again.
Do you have a Promise-Delivery disconnect with Your Company’s Uniques?:
Start fixing it by:
1. Getting your entire company to learn and live the promise of your “uniques” – don’t let them live with just your Sales team.
2. Ensure that your processes for delivering your product or service lives up to your “uniques”with every touch point.
The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®) helps companies clearly identify their “uniques” and communicate them throughout the entire company. If you think that your team might benefit from getting on the same page, Click here to e-mail me to set up our first conversation.

• Help them see the bigger picture by clearly communicating expectations that MATTER – It’s been my experience that 90% of all accountability issues stem from NOT having clear expectations set for the employee.   To create clarity, the expectations must be in writing, used and referred to often.   The following are some effective tools I use with clients to assist with this.
  • We create an Accountability Chart – Like an Org Chart – but on steroids, this chart lists the five major roles of the function along with the name and title.  EVERYONE in the business knows what EVERYONE else is responsible for and can see, at a glance, how their role in the company interacts with all the other roles in the company
  • We all ROCK!  Rocks are 90 day measurable objectives that are created together that support the vision of the Company and the direction of the department.  When everyone in the company is laser focused on a handful of priorities vs. 27, it’s just easier to be more accountable.
  • Core Values are used as the handful of rules that describe desired behaviors in the company.  Printing them on a t shirt or a mug are fun, just not enough.  Using them to hire, fire, review, reward and recognize creates beautiful expectations of desired behavior.
• Check in regularly… and publicly…  Once a week, ask your people to report quickly to the group if their Rock is “On Track” or “Off Track”.   The human brain loves and thrives in repetition and recognition.   Giving everyone a chance to do this quick reporting task as a group will help them “self-recognize” and “self-correct”.   If a Rock is off track, you’ll be able to coach your employee back on track.   If you never inspect what you expect, chances are, you’ll have low accountability.   Bonus… it just feels crappy to say “off track” to your team each week… you get the point.
• Engage them – The worst place for a disengaged person to work is in an Entrepreneurial company.  We just DON’T HAVE THE TIME OR ENERGY to deal with what I call “bumps on a log” employees.   One tool I use for engagement is the Issues List.   This turns the “open door” policy on its ear.  When I was younger, I had bosses that were constantly touting their “open door” policy.   They encouraged all of us to come to them with issues or problems.   The problem with their policy is that when someone DID get the courage to speak up, they were shot down or the issue was never addressed/heard of again.   NOTHING HAPPENED WITH THE INFORMATION.   Enter the “Issues List” tool.   This is a shared document (as simple as a white board or GoogleDoc) that employees have access to.  It is the mechanism or tool that the Open Door policy never matured to.  And it gets better!   This is not a complaint department.   It is for barriers, obstacles, ideas and opportunities.   Plus – the manager is not responsible for solving everything, it is done as a Leadership team or department.  When everyone is responsible for populating and solving items on the issues list, their commitment level skyrockets!   Gather the team once a week to solve issues together, engaging them in open, honest communication.