Copyright Adam Strong
ADAM STRONG:
AUTHOR, SPEAKER, PRODUCTIVITY COACH, PODCASTER
As I sit on the sofa at home, I use this time to reflect on what I have achieved and not achieved in the past year, areas of improvement, and what I need to do to change for the year ahead of me. I’ve come to realize even with experience and success in business… … you can still feel overwhelmed, frustrated, fearful, self-doubt, and a lack of clarity. (Even though you know what must be done) >> Important >>
As a former elite athlete that studied and trained with Olympic athletes, I thought that I was invincible until I realized that actually we all have limiting beliefs and sometimes we are just so incredibly hard on ourselves.
When I think of myself, I’m the biggest critic. I put all this pressure on myself of running a business (or three) balancing work and family life and setting myself high standards. All this pressure can somewhat paralyze our thinking and reduce our peripheral awareness. When I think of my position, I came to realize that many others are actually in a similar position. We all get stuck and it doesn’t feel good.
So, the million-dollar question is… How will you ensure your business is more productive in 2020?
How to Enhance Your Productivity (in 15 Steps)
Here is my “15-step checklist”
1. Create a VISION Your vision needs to start with what impact do you want to leave the world, in 100 years how will you be remembered and what legacy do you want to leave? Yes, these are all big questions, don’t get overwhelmed!
If you have created a why, goals, dream, or purpose in the past that you have not achieved, it’s likely that something didn’t feel right, you were disconnected and you were destined for something bigger than who you are.
We all have a purpose in life, use a quiet space, or use meditation tools to help find
some clarity allowing you to tap into what you want. It will also help you eliminate distractions, ego, and low self-worth.
2. ACTION PLAN One of the first things I teach my clients is creating a business blueprint! The blueprint needs to emulate according to your vision, this will help you become more focused. On one page, I start with my exit strategy (If you don’t want to exit that’s fine too, you may want to create a business where you have more of a backup scenes role).
In 3-5 bullet points, I write out what I need in place to make my exit strategy happen this varies from business to business. Here are some ideas: What positions do you need to have filled? What new products/ services do you want to have developed, what systems do you need in place? What countries do you want to expand? Try to be as specific as possible. Next…
A 12-month plan
A 6-month plan
A 3-month plan
One month from today You will want to update your one-page blueprint every month as your business adapts and progresses.
3. Don’t be afraid to fail
I have seen a common attribute in most entrepreneurs that I believe is our downfall, failure. I never see failure as a bad thing, I see it as a blessing. Failure is a way that has not worked it doesn’t mean it will never work. Did Thomas Edison have that mindset when he created the lightbulb? No, he just found 10,000 ways of how a lightbulb didn’t work. Does a baby give up that easily when they are learning to walk? No, they keep going until they figure it out.
Don’t think you are going to fail after – One speaking gig – One webinar – One high-ticketed offer – One course launched – One Facebook ad – One event Keep going
4. Plan the day before This is a must-do if you want to kickstart every day with intention! Always plan your day the day before and split the day into thirty-minute segments. This is one of the key skills you need to develop to become more self-disciplined and focused.
5. Manage your energy
If you want productivity, then you have to start managing your energy more efficiently. That means taking regular breaks every 2 hours, eating a healthy balanced diet, and staying in good physical shape too.
I encourage my clients to set themselves a fitness goal, for example, one of my clients decided to pursue the challenge of running the great wall of China half marathon. It doesn’t have to be as extreme as that just something that will take you out of your comfort zone.
6. Speed is the new currency
I’ve come across many companies that have spent years plateauing, losing money, and profits because they’re stuck. The story of Blockbuster Video failing in the face of innovation to Netflix is a common one. We see the same thing that happened to Toys-R-Us going into administration because they failed to identify the changing shopping habits of their customers, failed to embrace a digital platform, and failed to adapt to the new market.
Slow-moving firms have no future. The world is continuously evolving. Big players like Amazon, Apple, Wholefoods, and Nike are beginning to swallow up the markets. These companies are making customers’ experiences quicker, easier, and more convenient. And because companies like Blockbuster Video and Toys-R-Us got complacent, they’re out of business. “Success is all about Speed”
To me, success is all about speed. I don’t care about anything else. Speed, both in people skills and hard work, will crush anything. How quickly you implement certain ideas, adapt to the market, and stay ahead of your competition will make all the difference in your business.
As a former elite athlete, speed was so important, especially when it came to deciding on when we needed to step up a gear when we
were going to overcome the competition when we’d win the race. It’s the same thing in business – you have two choices: hustle hard or get crushed by the competition.
7. No such thing as perfectionism
Many business owners wait to make sure everything is perfect. It’s important to realize that perfectionism is BS and that you don’t have to get everything 100% right all the time. There will never be the perfect time, place, situation or circumstance just be happy with 80% and then move on.
“It’s not about perfection, but just getting things done quickly”
Measure everything As an athlete we measured everything, it was key to track the progress that ultimately gave us results.
If you want to improve you need to know where you were (past), where you are currently (present), and where you’re heading (future). Do more of what work and stop what does not work.
As an example, I use a system called ‘LAPS’ enabling me to measure my leads, appointments, presentations, and sales.
9. Stop doing list
We all have an endless to-do list but one thing I teach my clients is to figure out their stop doing list. To do this you must…. Evaluate what business skills you have and rate yourself on key areas such as sales, marketing, pitching, networking, branding, finances, and operations.
Delegate as much as you can enabling you to focus on the activities you enjoy and that you are good at.
I’m not particularly great with numbers, therefore, I delegate that activity out to my finance team. What activities/ tasks can you list that you need to stop doing and how much will it cost you to give that activity/ task to someone else?
10. Know your value!
When I sat down with one of my clients ‘Richard’ he was stuck, frustrated, and struggling to manage his time efficiently, he was stressed out not able to see his family and working in a business that was essentially him! I found that was trying to do everything (he was the bottleneck).
Whether that be working on his website, scrolling through his social media feed, checking his email, or creating a logo. He was essentially doing tasks for little or no money. When he realized this, we used productivity hacks and created a small team of contractors (these we sourced on places such as upwork.com, fiver.com, or 99designs.com).
He discovered all these activities are transactional. Transactional tasks do not add revenue to your bottom line. During the day, you need to focus on revenue-generating activities
that grow your business enabling you to delegate more tasks out.
11. Systemize everything!
One of the biggest things I have been focused on this year is creating more of an online business. We live in a digital world and you can create so much more impact by reaching out to clients that you can help in other places in the world. To move to the next level and be successful you need to develop and create systems and processes that support a new way of life.
The purpose of any business is to have a commercial and profitable organization that works without you. If your business depends on you or the knowledge is locked into your head begin to document everything and use the relevant systems to do the work.
12. Condition yourself
This is one of the key foundations you need to develop from the start. It doesn’t matter about a strategy or success formula without conditioning your mindset first, you will fail. For thirty minutes a day (ideally in the morning) read, watch or listen to positive material that will energize, encourage you, and will help you overcome self-doubt.
13. Surround yourself with the right people
Take yourself out of surroundings that make you feel like crap and plan time in places that uplift you! Spend less time with energy vampires and toxic people. These are the typical types of people that have limiting beliefs and want to put their s**t on you, or the ones that tell you you’re not good enough, or offer unsolicited advice on your expertise with what you do, or those that just whine and moan about life and do nothing to changing their own.
Unfortunately, the reality is they can be an employee, a friend/ family member, or worst of all your spouse. Choose positive people that uplift you and think like you. Create your circle of associations that have a growth mindset, those that share the same success principles and values as yours, empathy, integrity, and kindness.
14. Believe in yourself
If you don’t believe in yourself there will be no shadow of a doubt that you are going to struggle! One of my clients ‘James’ didn’t believe in himself this created self-doubt and fear of rejection. He didn’t want to pick up the phone to follow up with clients after interacting with them. After revisiting his vision and understanding his client’s pain points, he became motivated and believed that he could help his clients find a solution.
15. Get a coach or mentor
From a very young age, I was exposed to coaching early on in my athletic career. Honestly, if I didn’t have a coach or mentor there is no way I wouldn’t have had the success I had if it wasn’t for him.
If you look at Olympic athletes, celebrities, or successful entrepreneurs they have all had coaches and mentors.
For most of you, coaches/ mentors can come from books, audios, YouTube videos, Instagram stories or just following successful entrepreneurs. If you want a shortcut to success then go and get a real coach or mentor, one that you invest time and money with.
They will save you the most valuable asset ‘TIME’ which is something you can never replace! A great coach or mentor should encourage you, hold you accountable, and be honest be with you!
When you work in the trenches it is hard to get a bird’s eye view of what’s holding you back and how to fix your bottlenecks. It is critical to get some advice and have someone to turn to that will help you get to the next level (a place where you may have never been before!) It can be lonely running a business (trust me I know I own three). Don’t assume you know everything, be coachable. I teach this when I work with my clients. If it is good enough for me, it must be good enough for you too! Conclusion If you’ve read to the end, I’m sure there have been some points raised that have resonated with you. I wanted to share some insights into my life, my business, and what you can do in yours.
Business is not easy (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise) I’ve seen so many business owners and entrepreneurs fall down the rabbit hole and it is tough to get out! The key is to spend more time working on your business not just in your business, and you need to learn how to work smarter not harder. . The truth is… you can patch some things together from this article and try to achieve success but both you and I know that’s a slow way. If you to build a successful business that gives you what you want out of life get a successful “mentor” or “coach” that can make it easier for you to give you a competitive advantage. . And that’s why I’m here to help… As a Business Results Strategist. I want to show you the right way to achieve faster results, create clarity, and grow and scale your business. So you can work less, make more, and serve your clients to a higher level.
If you’re set on making 2020 a year of lasting change and achieving faster results. Message me and we can arrange a convenient date and time to speak. . And if I can help you with your desired outcome.
We can discuss a tailor-made package that we can create to ensure your success. contact me at: hello@adamstrong.net and let me know you found me thru Influential People Magazine ~ Adam Strong
https://adamstrong.net/ Adam Strong
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Adam Strong is a former elite athlete who trained with Olympic goldmedalist Mo Farah. He has taken the principles of discipline, focus, and productivity and applied them to business to help entrepreneurs and medium-sized companies deliver fast and effective results. Adam is the creator of ‘Accelerated outcomes’ an 87-day online coaching course designed to increase speed, productivity, and profits, take alook here!
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The Game Changers Experience are deep dive conversations with some of leading business disruptors, Olympic athletes, celebrities, entrepreneurs, influencers and movers and shakers from around the world. You will learn the insights about the winning principals in mindset, productivity, marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, business strategy and more. Entwining elite sports with entrepreneurship. The show is hosted by Ultra-High Personal Productivity Authority, Business Strategist, Former Elite Athlete, Author and Public Speaker Adam Strong.
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