Posts Tagged ‘Evaluation’

I have just returned from spending three days in a wonderful destination with my family. Away from the office and away from home, the major goal of the long weekend was to do absolutely nothing relating to business.

In order to achieve that goal, the weekend was peppered with lots of coffee and ice cream dates, lunches, dinners, relaxation, a couple of games of tenpin bowling, some board games, some time at the beach, some reading, sleep ins and a general recharging of the batteries.

With a busy business schedule brewing towards the end of last year, I set for myself a goal that every six weeks I would take a mini holiday: sometimes just my wife and I and other times with the whole family. That meant eight mini holidays in twelve months and then in addition to that there would be major family holidays planned throughout. To date it has been working just fine.

THE HOTEL WITHOUT THE SURVEY

But one of the things I noted about some holiday accommodation I recently stayed in was that there were certain aspects of the hotel that beckoned my attention. Even though the establishment was of a high quality, I noticed that some items of furniture in our suite had somewhat aged and were looking a little tired. And the one thing that I noticed missing, compared to other hotels I had stayed in, was that there was no opportunity for the customer, me, to have their opinion. There was no survey.

And from past experience, where there is no presence of a survey, and aspects of the service is looking tired or a tad sloppy, it is quite clear that the owners of the establishment have either gone on holidays themselves or have completely lost touch with their clientele.

Although the view was a multi-million dollar view, there were aspects of this hotels service that fell far below expected standards and I was convinced that I would never choose to stay there again.

THE HOTEL WITH THE SURVEY

When in Sydney, to celebrate the New Year this year, I stayed in another hotel and their mission statement was embodied in three words ‘yes we can’. What they were saying, by having that mission statement, was that even if a client created the problem, they would make it right.

Over the four or five days that I stayed in that hotel I tested that statement time and time again with each and every staff member with whom I interacted. The good news was that, without fail, each and every staff member went out of their way to make my stay pleasant, and the response from the people who cleaned our rooms, to those in the restaurant and those at the front desk was always ‘yes we can’.

In addition to this policy that they had operating in all of their hotels, they also provided a card on which was found a survey. Because I appreciate the value of surveys I happily filled out and commended them on their excellent service. One particular employee was noted because he simply happened to remember my name, the very next morning after he had first met me. Now that’s excellence!

TIME FOR A PERSONAL SURVEY

I have lately been reading Brian Tracy’s book entitled Focal Point. In one section of the book I was challenged to conduct a personal survey.

Brian proposed four questions that we should ask those whom we live with and love.

They were:

1. Is there anything I am doing today that you would like me to do more of?

2. Is there anything I am doing that you would like me to do less of?

3. Is there anything I am doing that you would like me to start doing right now?

4. Is there anything I am doing that you would like me to stop doing right now?

I emailed these questions to every member of my family. To say that the response to these questions was eye opening is an understatement. I was really opening myself up for some honest comments, encouragement and correction.

But I really did love the comments from my youngest daughter. She encouraged me to water my garden more, to stop working so hard, to relax and to not drink too much coffee. All wise statements I might add that I have heeded.

Isn’t it amazing though how we can live with people all our lives and rarely take the time to find out how we could make their lives a much better experience? That’s why so many marriages suddenly wake up in divorce. Somewhere along the way somebody failed to ask the right questions.

Businesses who don’t ask for their client’s input don’t last. The same goes with families, churches, clubs, political parties and organizations.

Their survival and our survival depend upon regular surveyed checkups.

TAKE TIME TO DO A PERSONAL CHECKUP – CONDUCT A SURVEY

Change is our constant companion and it is those who adjust to change who last the distance. And in order to meet the needs of our family, our friends and our clients we must learn to ask questions regularly.

Surveys have personally provided me with better relationships, winning titles for books that I have written, adjusted plans for businesses that I have owned and fresh ideas to capture new markets.

So go ahead and do your own surveys.

Motivational Quote: Those who survey regularly are those who survive continually.

I recently pulled my sales team together in my website design business http://www.oe-design.com for some self-analysis. The fact is that if you can clearly identify where you’re currently at, you can then make the necessary adjustments in order to become better.

In this article I am going to share with you two analysis exercises that will assist you in warding off paralysis in life. So many people are simply treading water, when it comes to living, and one of the major reasons for this is that they really don’t fully understand who they are and what they have been born for. They have no purpose and so their life is purposeless. If this is you, you can put a stop to it today by undertaking these exercises with the utmost honesty. For there is one person whom you cannot truly lie to, and that is yourself. Be truthful and the truth will set you free. It is my prayer for you that as you undertake these following two tasks that it will be one of the most liberating experiences you have had in your entire life.

This first self-analysis has been drawn and adapted from a fabulous book entitled ‘You Inc.’ by John McGrath. The response of my team to this analysis was so good that I have decided to share it with you.

Even though I am applying it to the website design business, you can adapt it to whatever you do in your own life. This is a great exercise to do on your own, but if you really want it to have a lasting impact on your life, ask another person, whom you can trust, to do the exercise with you. It may be your partner, your business associate or even your staff.

The first question raised was: What would the best website salesperson on the planet look like? What would their strengths be? How would they look? How would they act? What habits would they have?

MAKE A LIST OF ATTRIBUTES…

Then list these attributes and rate yourself on each of these attributes from 0 to 10, with 10 being the best, and zero the worst. If you’re completely honest the average rating is usually between 5 and 7 for most of the skills.

Is 6 or 5 or 7 out of ten going to help you market websites? NO! The problem is that a lot of us have been living our lives at 6 out of 10.

The good news though is that the first step towards living a 10 out of 10 life is creating awareness that there’s room for improvement. Just by doing this exercise you start to take control of your life and begin thinking about how to improve your ratings.

Now let’s make a plan. Write down a few things that you could do to improve your ratings in key areas.

Now in order to be motivated, think how your life would be if you were operating at an 8, 9, or even a 10 in all those areas.

As these increase you will see your sales increasing, your income increasing, and your financial situation improving. You’ll also see your self-esteem rising, stress decreasing, and as a result your relationships will be better.

Focusing on the positive outcomes of the changes will give you the impetus to actually make changes. By focusing on your rewards rather than any pain that you have to go through to get there will help you stick with your changes.

20 LIFE CHANGING QUESTIONS

It is in the times of silence that my goals and dreams shout the loudest. With pen in hand and a piece of paper before me, my thoughts are able to jump from my mind onto the page as I concentrate them on my future and analyse my present and past. I make it a habit to take myself off somewhere quiet; sometimes to a park, a restaurant, or to a library or beside a lake. It doesn’t really matter where, but at that moment in time my entire focus is to reach into the depths of my mind and heart to discover what dreams lie lurking below the surface. Some of the goals or ideas discovered are for the next six months, while others may take years to materialize.

The busier I get, the more time I take out to think. The more projects I take on board, the more I need to get refreshed and recharged as I take the next steps. I also use the time to not only chart the future, but to also evaluate the past and present activities that I am engaged in. A journey begun must be kept on course through the habit of making regular checks and balances. How do you do this? By asking yourself some simple questions. ‘Is the path that I originally embarked on, moving me closer to my original goal? Have I replaced the basics of success with busyness?’ For it is possible to be so busy that you have become ineffective. Remember, that it is not how many times you shoot that will make the difference; it is how many times you hit the target that counts. If you are missing the mark, and not making significant progress in reasonable time, then maybe you need to readjust your aim or get some good advice from a professional marksman in your line of business.

It pays to be honest in your own self-evaluation. If you find this difficult to do, then ask your partner or a close friend to assist in the process. Build into your life a regular, self-development check-up. Put yourself under the spotlight and give yourself a personal development x-ray. Look in the mirror, and face up to the fact that you may still need some further growth in certain areas of your life. (If you ever think you’ve arrived you’re in big trouble.) Anyone who can seriously evaluate their life is heading not only on to the road of success, but has in fact got off the beaten track and is set to start cruising on the freeway of success.

Now for the second analysis. I previously published this under the title ‘20 Questions’. But once again, having my team do this analysis emphasised to me on how powerful this analysis tool, that I created, really is. So here it is once again for your benefit…and if you have already competed it once before, may I challenge you to do it again. You may be surprised how far you’ve come since the last time you completed it.

To help you in this process of self analysis answer the following questions…

1. My greatest strengths are…?

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2. My greatest weaknesses are…?

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3. Am I presently making the best of my strengths in my present occupation? If not, why not?

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4. If time and money weren’t an option, what would I be doing today and what work would I pursue?

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5. Have I established a goal that in the next twelve months will attribute to my overall Life Goal? If so, write it down.

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If not, use these four categories to assist you. Write two or three ideas for each category.

In the next twelve months I will….

DO:

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HAVE:

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LEARN:

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BE:

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6. In my present occupation do I provide both quality and quantity of service?

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7. What is my greatest fear and what action can I perform to overcome it?

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8. Do I procrastinate? If so how can I improve my rate of performance?

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9. Do I persist with a project or a goal until its completion?

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10.Do I make a habit of seeking out mentors in my chosen field?

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When was the last time that I sat down with someone, much more successful than myself, so as to learn from them?

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11. Have I met someone new this past week?

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12. Do I use my time wisely? How many hours in the past week have I spent on developing myself?

Mentally:

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Physically:

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Spiritually:

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Socially:

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Financially:

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13. How much time have I wasted this past week?

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14. In what areas of my life can I improve?

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15. Have I made decisions this week that are based upon my personal attention to detail, or have they been made without too much thought?

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16. Have I planned my week and each day in advance so that the building blocks to my success are built through planning, and not through guesswork?

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17. Have I remained true to my conscience and maintained integrity in all of my affairs?

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18. Have I kept up good relationships with all those with whom I have dealt with this week?

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19. Have I encouraged another ’student of success’ through a phone call, note, letter or e-mail this week?

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20. Have I achieved all that I set out to achieve this week?

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Are there any areas that I could become more efficient in, or even possibly delegate?

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So how did you go? Enlightened? Challenged? Liberated? Confused?

Whatever feelings are currently going through you, and whatever thoughts are bombarding your mind will determine the next steps that you are going to take in your life.

If you have discovered a number of areas in your life that require change, let me challenge you to CHOOSE ONE AREA ONLY to start with and apply the action to increase your zero to 10 score or at least effect some positive change in that area of your life IMMEDIATELY. It is applied action that will make all the difference.

For I can wish to lose kilos or pounds, as much as I like. But real change starts when I hop on that trampoline and run for 21 minutes every morning five days a week, or lift those weights, or walk the dog every day. Action creates change. So let me encourage you to get to work.

And if you have been challenged or encouraged by either of these self-analysis tools, let me know at http://www.motivationalmemo.com . I’d love to hear from you.

Motivational Quote: Action cures fear and years of neglect.