If you’re not currently setting goals to be in better shape, you know what you need to do.

Trust me – your back problems and evolving double chin will disappear faster than you think.

“Ya I just don’t have time to work out.” Neither does Barack Obama, but he’s hard in the gym for an hour in the morning, 6 days a week.

Don’t you hate it when I’m right?

Also, when recruiting, look for athletes and hire people who play sports actively.

Look for team players.  Look for those with athletic goals as adults.  Those who wake up working out hard will work hard in their jobs.  Those who sit on the couch watching TV that makes them dumber will produce similar results at work.

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The highest performing leaders and companies reach out to many outside experts for advice in addition to having a Board of Advisers.

As humans, we’re hard-wired to help each other. When people reach out to us for advice it makes us feel good.

I’m not old or bored enough to be on traditional boards yet, but advisory boards are a great way I help entrepreneurs make their dreams happen.

I’ve been coaching entrepreneurs for over twenty years now and have helped many establish and execute their strategic plans. I’ve also worked with them to teach them easy to implement, scalable systems in order to grow their companies.

Most high-ranking CEOs have coaches or mentors, even if they never talk about them. Successful people learn from other successful people.  Iron sharpens irons.

Get a coach (or some coaches). You’ll wonder how you survived without one.

If you want to have an open work culture and a respectful workplace, or if you’re trying to get employees to come to you with problems or opportunities, the first thing you need to do is listen.

I can’t emphasize how important this is.

After you’ve listened, ask questions so that you understand exactly what they’re saying. Then take 24 hours to respond—if possible—so that you have time to really absorb what they’ve said. With all of your personal strength, resist the urge to shut anyone down, or they’ll never come back to you with their problems or suggestions on how to make your company better.

When I was COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, we worked hard to foster an open work culture and build real trust between one another. Our bond was so strong that at our daily seven-minute huddle meeting, we finished by asking, “Are there any missing systems or key frustrations?” People would usually give honest feedback about something that could be improved. However because of the way we phrased it, employees felt safe enough in that environment to speak openly about problems or areas of concern so that they could make the situation better.  We all knew it was a no blame environment.

You are never immune to failure—sometimes things just don’t work. As an entrepreneur running a healthy business, your challenge isn’t to dread those inevitable failures, but to implement processes that help you deal with them so that they ultimately make your business stronger.

The E-Myth, a book by Michael Gerber teaches that people don’t fail, systems do. We reinforced that message so well that people were willing to point out what was broken because they knew that they wouldn’t get fired for giving feedback.  If something was broken, it was likely a missing system, not one person’s failure.

Communication thrives when information and feedback can flow freely without fear. People want to be heard—listened to–and require thoughtful responses, not curt, corporate-speak. In the end, this combination of listening, openness and trust will be the best way to achieve the kind of communication that will make your business a wild success.

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Setting SMART goals is a powerful goal-setting strategy.
My version of the word SMART stands for:

•          S          Shared
•          M         Measurable
•          A          Attainable
•          R          Relevant
•          T          Time Based

Shared
Both the Manager and Employee have to feel it’s a good goal.  The goal has maximum buy-in when the subordinate sets it and both people commit to hitting it.

Measurable
The goal can be quantified or is at least tangible.  For example, ‘Move average contract size from $1,500 to $1,650.’  All goals should have a #, $ or % sign – otherwise they are too hazy.

Attainable
While it’s great to set lofty goals, you want goals to be achievable in order to build a culture of achievement.

Relevant
The goal has to be relevant and aligned with the objectives or goals the business area or company is working towards.  Otherwise, in a vacuum it may seem like a good goal, but no one really cares about it.

Time Based
Goals should be broken down into a sequence of goals based on time.  For example, ‘Ten calls per day this week.’  And those goals should be placed directly into your calendar for the exact time & day you’ll do the work.

Also, break the habit of allowing people to have all their goals due on the last day of the quarter.  It’s better to pepper the goals throughout the month/quarter/year.

How SMART are your goals for 2nd Quarter ?

I once had a mentor who asked me, “Do you have any of the wrong people in your company?”  And I said, “Yeah I’ve got one guy.”

He said, “How long have you known he’s the wrong person?”

“I’ve known for about six months,” I said.

“Why haven’t you let him go?”  He asked.

“Because I like him, because he’s been really good for the last couple of years. Because I really like him and he really cares.”

“Well why do you want to let him go then?”

And I replied, “Well he’s an emotional roller coaster…”

I had all these reasons why we needed to let him go and my mentor looked at me and said, “I need you to tell me the date that you’re going to fire him.”

“OK, I’ll let him go by Friday.”  This was a Tuesday morning.  We were at Denny’s on Broadway.

He said, “So you’ll let him go by Friday?”

And I said, “Yeah, Friday.”

Then he said, “That’s not good enough.”

I said, “OK, I’ll let him go Wednesday.”  Then he just stared at me, and said, “Chicken!”

And I said, “OK, I’ll let him go today.”

“Good. What time?”

This was 7.30 in the morning on a Tuesday. I’ve moved the firing from Friday to the very same day and he wants to know what time?!  So I said, “I’ll do it by noon.”

My mentor said, “Good. Call me at 12.05pm and I’ll be there for you, but you make damn sure you’re there for him. You make sure when you’re getting this person off your bus that you respect him, and his integrity. You treat him like a person, you mentor him to help him grow in his next career. You have an obligation to him because six months ago is when you should have let him go and for the last six months you’ve been stealing from him.  You’ve taken six months of this kid’s life because he didn’t want to quit because of you.  He wanted to be there to be loyal to you, and because you were too chicken to let him go six months ago when you should have, you’ve taken six months of his life. So you make sure that you’re there for him.”

That was some of the hardest-hitting and best learning I’ve ever had in business.  Hard to hear, easier to execute.

We both cried when I had to let him go that day.

I actually drove back to the office that day and I walked into the office and put my briefcase down and said, “Can I grab you?”  I hadn’t even sat down, but my mind was finally committed to do the right thing for the company and for him. I received emails and Facebook messages from the guy I let go even five or six years after it happened, “Hope you’re well. How are the kids? How’s Australia?”

The moral of this story is that you simply must get the wrong people out of your organization in the right way in order to build a very powerful culture.  If you remove people from your organization in the wrong way, you’ll destroy your culture.

For information on this topic, check out: Leadership at 100MPH.