June 17, 2009 Chris Fuller

Without Action there is no R.A.C.E…

“Good things come to those who wait” – but wait long enough and your dreams will pass you by and be experienced by the man or woman of action!

This is the part where we work the plan and we get the team members doing their part. In my teams, I emphasize simplicity and Action. Without Action, we’re just thoughts, without simplicity, it will never get out of the kennel. The best race strategy left in the lodge and not implemented is always trumped by a margin strategy implemented to the fullest.

Your TEAM needs simplicity AND they need a job to do – they are the happiest when they have a job to do and they are allowed to do it without a lot of interference. It’s dogs before sled, not sled before dogs. It’s simplicity and Action. I had a mentor a long time ago tell me, “I’m not judging you on your intentions or your efforts, I’m judging you on your outcome.” I thought it was hard at the time, but it has served me extremely well over the years.

For years, I have encouraged leaders that it’s time we put ‘Execute’ back into Executives. Wall Street doesn’t pay for intention – the pay for Action and Results – for Execution. I Love what Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan say about ‘Execution’ – that Leaders don’t fail for lack of vision – they fail for not executing the vision that they have. Fire, Ready, Aim doesn’t work – but neither does Ready, Ready, Ready…..

All of us have things and/or pieces of our dreams that we don’t know how to bring to pass – that’s natural. If we could bring it to pass, completely on our own, it might be too small of a vision. The success lies in taking the next known step – thinking in processes and asking yourself, “What would a successful person do in this situation? What is the next step they might take?” Then take that next step – evaluate whether you are closer to your vision or farther away and act accordingly. The key is action! It’s classic success principles, “Who – does what – by when”

Two things that I consistently remind myself:

• “Start” what needs to be started

• Finish what I start

“Don’t just be a hearer or thinker – be a doer – act on what you know to do!”

Lewis & Clark remarking about their expedition said, “We didn’t always know the entirety, but inevitably someone on the team knew the NEXT thing we needed to do.”

Today’s thought: What’s the next thing? Not then next 10 things – the NEXT thing – let’s do that thing and not get locked up! Don’t fear failure – fear being paralyzed by fear!

“Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Chris Fuller's Availability

To check Chris Fuller's availability to speak at your event or to have Chris and his team bring inspired consulting or training to your organization, simply fill out the form below. Someone from our team will be in touch shortly.