​It’s more than a number to Team Jacksonville!  When it was “1” it was fun.  When it became “2” they weren't through.  “3” was all about the “Three-peat”.  “4” meant even more.  But what about “5”?  “5” is to thrive!  I looked up expressions for 5-time repeat winners and discovered that the Urban Dictionary hasn't even got a word to describe it.  Any ideas out there?
 
I'm talking about this team’s dominance in delivering Exceptional Client Service, year in and year out. So exceptional, in fact, that 100% of their current clients are happy to respond when surveyed and 100% of those will recommend us to others. (And north of 90% of clients retain their services year after year!) To secure their Repeat-Champion status, this team has improved their results annually; without doing so, they wouldn't have retained the Client Engagement Award in prior years, or again this time around.  That's 5 award-winning performances in a row!!!!!
 
What's their secret to success?  Without diminishing the complexity of what it takes to deliver top-notch service day in and day out, I see two essential qualities that stand out:

1. They care more than most. They care for each other first and then for their work and their clients.  They open talk about it, by praising one another, teasing like brothers and sisters, and celebrating the achievement and recognition of standout performances within the team
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2. They “Own It”!  They are accountable for their individual actions and their team’s results. The ownership is born of pride in their work and the fact that they simply care more than most. 

These two elements reinforce each other and drive continuous improvement.  You can see how Team influences Safety, Retention, Financial Performance and Growth.
 
When success is repeated, you've got the makings of a Trend. But when success becomes Tradition, you're on the Path to Greatness!  Enjoy the Journey!

How’s it going with your New Year’s Resolution(s)?  Did you make one or more for 2016?  If you did, is that aspiration still active in your life, or have you already relegated it to the dustbin of best intentions?  If you are still struggling to “make the time” to work on it, and since we are still just barely in January, I have something to share that will help you salvage it and make forward progress. .
 
This week I had the good fortune to meet Steve McClatchy, as he delivered an inspirational – and aspirational – presentation to our leadership team at our annual forum.  His practical ideas and energy are infectious, as he passionately shares his insights on human behavior and achievement.  I won’t endeavor to tell his story here (as it would require a book – see below!), but I will delve into one central idea that crystallized for me as Steve spoke.
 
There is never a moment in our lives without some urgent or necessary thing we must, should, or could do.  Failure to do those things can cause pain, and sometimes the act of doing them can be painful or at least unpleasant.  The sheer volume of “to-dos” can and often will crowd out the things in our lives with the greatest potential for meaningful advancement.

So exactly what do the Urgent, Necessary and Never have in common?  The Urgent and Necessary can conspire such that the most valuable improvements and greatest joys in our lives Never happen.

The good news here is that the dawn of every day brings an opportunity to make choices regarding how we will spend it and what we will do.  I wrote about the two daily choices we face a couple of years ago: http://www.billdellecker.com/blog/two-choices .  We don’t have to allow the urgent and necessary, or apathy, to drive out everything else.  Change begins with a choice. 

Using a schedule to plan activities is a powerful tool, if the planning process includes blocked time for the activities that will move your life forward.  Steve McClatchy explains how “gain activities” must be scheduled and then “defended”, so they aren’t crowded out by all of the “to-dos” (aka “pain activities”) that surround them.
 
If this concept resonates with you, I heartily recommend that you check out Steve’s resources at the links below.  Enjoy the Journey!

Steve@Alleer.com / www.Alleer.com / http://alleer.com/clients/
  
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd0MVKSXJfc 
Steve McClatchy Profile:http://alleer.com/about/
LinkedIn Profile:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemcclatchy
Twitter:https://twitter.com/stevemcclatchy
 
New York Times, USA Today & Amazon Bestseller:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Decide-Smarter-Reduce-Stress-Example/dp/1118554388
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/decide-steve-mcclatchy/1117925681?

That's when the effort matters most in football.  Playing with intensity throughout a game is always important, but it's how you finish that will be remembered. The highlight reels don't mean much unless those spectacular moments result in a win for the team.

American football is tough business, even brutal. The game is intense, hard-hitting and fast. Faster and more physical than ever before. Victory doesn't go to the weak; it belongs to those who can finish strong. And that means being able to play as hard, with as much focus, in the fourth quarter as you do in the first. Mental discipline must match physical discipline for this to occur.  The adrenaline is long gone by the fourth quarter; it must be replaced by effective training, supported by sheer will.

The importance of the first three quarters is to get you into the fourth, with a possibility to win. How many of us have seen leads evaporate at that crucial time, if a team loses its edge by becoming complacent from sitting on what they thought was a comfortable lead?  Or weakening and losing because they just become plain old tired -- the hands-on-hips, out-of-breath kind of tired. The kind of clock-watching tired that just wants the game to be over.  It's at that pivotal moment that you make a decision to Win, or fade away and Lose.

The game of business can also be tough, even brutal.  Competitors and customers don't always play fairly.  If you're in a service business, the season can be long, even brutal.  The first quarter may be fast and fun; the second and third will turn into something else, as the summer heat bears down.  Ultimately, it's what you do in the “fourth quarter” that defines you.  What will you do?  How will you be remembered?  Can you find it deep inside you to finish as strong, or stronger, than how you started?  That's what winners do.

Here’s a quote from General Stanley McCrystal that sums up what it takes:

“There’s likely a place in paradise for people that tried hard, but what most matters is succeeding. If that requires you to change, that's your mission.”

When you make it into the fourth quarter, play like it’s a new game. Adapt your game plan, dig down deep and bring something to the field of play that the competition hasn't felt before.  Enjoy the Game – and the Journey!  (It's a long season!)

In October of 1805, British Admiral Horatio Nelson faced a daunting threat in an effort to defend the British Isles from a Franco-German armada focused on defeating his lesser force and opening the way for an invasion of Britain.  Nelson had 19 ships against the enemy’s 33.  The Battle of Trafalgar loomed…

The classic method for fighting warships in those days was to align them across from one another and fire cannon across the void until one of the forces surrenders, or sinks. This parallel alignment also enabled the admiral to direct actions of his ships via flag signals down the line.  It was a brutal approach, pitting force against force with a central command to direct the action. The thing is, that's a tough way to manage things when the opposing force doesn't behave as you expect.  That's especially true when disruption and chaos ensue.

Nelson, outnumbered and outmanned, decided to change the rules of engagement. He gathered the captains of his ships and shared with them an entirely different approach; they would divide their ships into two lines, sailing perpendicular to the Franco-German ships, and go right at them with the intent of dividing the enemy ships into three sections, disrupting signals and creating chaos as they fired directly into the ships as they crossed the line.

Wind direction favored Nelson as he sailed his 227 foot wooden warship 'Victory' and the rest of his fleet across the void and directly into the enemy line. This move confused and then decimated the Franco-German force. Nelson knew this would create chaos and in his direction to his other captains said that no man could go too wrong if he were to “place his ship alongside that of the enemy.”  They did and, as the smoke cleared that day, no British ships were lost; 19 of the 33 enemy vessels were captured, however.  The British Navy decisively won the Battle of Trafalgar, by employing an unorthodox but highly informed and shared approach.

This novel battle plan depended upon Nelson’s captains and crews fully understanding the overall battle plan and objectives.  The “entrepreneurial” approach he planned was dependent upon shared purpose and clarity of focus. The Franco-German ships didn't have that; in fact, Napoleon had made it quite clear to Vice Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve that he absolutely could not share with other officers what the plan for defeating England might be.  The 33 Franco-German ships were suddenly in the fog of battle without a signal flag to read.  And there was none….

Cool history lesson?  I hope so.  When I read about this old sea battle recently in a current book on leadership, I was captivated by the idea of how such an informational and structural change could create such an unexpected outcome. Those lessons are surprisingly relevant to business in our day and time.  A generation or so ago, people in business were waiting for signals from the leaders regarding what to do, when, and how. But then the world changed and the Information Age dawned.  Old rules out; new rules in.  The fascinating thing is that the “new” rules mirror those adopted by Admiral Nelson 210 years ago.  Know “Why”, “How” and finally “What” needs to happen and fully share that with your team; then go accomplish it.

If you're equipped with that knowledge, you can win a battle equally important to the Battle of Trafalgar for the British in 1805.  You’re equipped to win the Business Battle of the 21st Century!

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of watching the U.S. Air Force’s twenty six newly-minted pilots receive their wings, upon completion of a grueling pilot training program that has spanned more than a year “at the edge of America” (Laughlin AFB, Texas).  This was the capstone training for a journey for each of them preceded by preparatory education and training over an average of a half dozen years. They are 26 Strong.

The inspirational graduation festivities spanned two days and conjured up strong feelings of pride and patriotism. The formal graduation ceremony was highlighted by the remarks of a retired Brigadier General who traveled this same path several decades earlier and whose son was graduating along with mine.  He described this distinguished group of young leaders as Humble, Approachable and Credible.

You might not think of young pilots as “Humble” by nature, but that is exactly how they came across as a graduating class.  None of them were focused on being the center of attention; instead, as a group they are 26 Strong, confident officers.

To say they are “Approachable” would be an understatement; this group is full of energy and enthusiasm. They clearly feed off one another and welcome lively interaction with family and friends. Their bonds are 26 Strong.

“Credible” is the key word that emanates from this group of 26 Strong, trained professionals who are ready to serve.  The aircraft they will pilot span bases across the Air Force; you can sense the confidence that they will carry with them into their new missions as they join the active pilots who have come before them. 

This personal glimpse into the attributes of these young officers and pilots translates well to leadership in virtually any values-based, goal-oriented organization.  To be Humble, Approachable and Credible is to foster a culture of continuous improvement and achievement.  As the saying goes: None of us is as smart as all of us.  We can learn so much more from each other when we are humble and approachable, and we become more credible in the process.

It is such a glorious moment when you make it to the top!  The ascent can be literal, as in climbing a mountain, but it can also be figurative in many aspects of life and business. Whatever the pursuit, climbing is hard work; not only do you need to move steadily and maintain your footing, you must defy gravity in the process.  So why bother?

You could have posed that question to Brian Martin a couple of years ago, when he decided he was going to pursue an Executive MBA from the University of Florida.  He already had a great job, leading the Florida region for his company, having come off a successful stint leading business development; his job kept him very busy and was more than enough to completely fill up each week.  On the personal front, he had a growing family, with a wonderful wife plus a 2 year old and a 4 year old.  What in the world would possess Brian to take on even more at such a busy time in his life?

Judging from the look on his face at graduation with a UF-MBA after an arduous two year journey of late nights studying and long classroom weekends, you can see and feel the sense of accomplishment radiate from him.  He decided to make the climb, driven by a commitment to sharpen his business skills.  And he made it to the top, while managing to fulfill his job responsibilities and still spending some quality time with his family.

The thing about making it to the top is that the moment and feeling are fleeting.  It's awesome, but it doesn't last nearly as long as the process required to get there. The feeling of accomplishment lasts just long enough to reinforce why you did it in the first place.  That's usually enough of a reward to make the trip worth the effort.

Most wouldn't choose to add more stress to an already busy and successful life.  But Brian, and others like him, are not content with how things look today.  They want to make their world, and their lives, more meaningful and contribute at a higher level.  So they find a way to accomplish what others don't, or simply won't. They set a lofty goal and relentlessly pursue it.  Satisfaction from small victories along the way keeps them going.

There's one more thing that happens at the summit. The view becomes panoramic and you can see much farther than you've ever seen before.  Suddenly distant peaks come into view and expose new paths to follow on life's journey.  Congratulations, Brian, on your success.  Enjoy your well-earned moment at the summit.  I can't wait to see what's next!