Hi everyone and welcome to my part two of three series of the articles, where I will share why reactive planning or lack of planning is one of the major causes to loss of businesses productivity, performance, and profits.
In October 2016 I was given a pretty big action to take while working for my former employer to create an effective Permit System to run in conjunction with the International Client. There was already a system in place, but it suffered from multiple inefficiencies which impacted negatively on performance, productivity and profits for all companies involved. Negatively affected and caused huge workplace stress for multiple departments in multiple UK locations from Tradesmen, Supervision, HSE, Planning, Management, to Corporate Functions in both Aberdeen and London.
On being given this action I could already see the steps in my mind that I would have to take, the challenges I’d face which I relished, and who was going to affected by this and we’re not just in Grangemouth, but also Aberdeen and London. There was much more to this than my thinking would allow me to see, so I wrote it all down.
The action I needed to take was to create an efficient Permit System. Having spent over three years understanding various systems as well as being mentored and coached by Tony J. Selimi, I consolidated all of my knowledge and all Tony has been teaching me to create a clear plan on how to build a perfect, safe and efficient Permit System. Tony is an incredible teacher and many of his clients describe him as a masterful educator who can awaken team’s productivity, performance, listening and communication skills that are essential for any company’s growth.
The below quote is one of the many of Tony’s quotes that inspire me and I trust will inspire you to shift your awareness, improve your focus and transform your behaviours.
I have attended many seminars and have come across many trainers, but Tony’s integrated approach to empowerment, activating leadership and values alignment is what changed my life and I know can change yours or any company that hires him. He is an exceptional teacher of our modern times who knows how to expand your awareness and maximise the potential of human capital.
One of the many things I learned from Tony is how to see the exact requirements for any task I was given, the value it will bring to the team, the company, the customer and myself, and the clear steps I and others can take to complete the tasks given whilst saving valued time, money and energy.
This inspired me to write them into the Action Plan of the permit system. Often we never listen to the guidance we are given. Working with Tony I learned to pay close attention to everything he was teaching me. One of the many exercises was about learning how to embody the traits I was judging in others. This on it’s own helped me improve my behaviour with others, it made me communicate better and it helped me be more accepting of other’s opinions and behaviours.
One of the pitfalls in many of the jobs I have done is the lack of alignment in personal, company and customer values. What I learned from years of experience and from Tony is that if a manager assigns an action to a person to achieve a goal for the company, yet the person’s values and personality traits are not aligned, then the ultimate outcome is a lot of time, resources, and energy wasting.
Tony beautifully captures some of the concepts shared here in his multi-award-winning books and Living My Illusion documentary he co-created with his clients, the co-owners of Vandercom. You’re personal values and behaviours may be unknowingly eroding your companies performance, productivity and profits and it could well cause irreparable damage to the companies reputation.
A few examples:
· A specific action may require someone who can build trust with a client. That said, the individual may be regularly displaying traits considered to be inappropriate with the one’s of the client, i.e they may be more devious than trusting, they may be lacking the ethics, morals and social values to achieve the desired outcome.
· A specific action may require someone who can communicate effectively in meetings and with other departments. Yet, the person given that action may see themselves as shy, lacking the confidence to talk in front of others or to others, and their preference or preferred method of communication is email.
· A specific action may require someone who has great analytical skills and a focused mindset. Yet, the person given that task may see themselves as being easily distracted, having a low attention span and may be more prone to gossip at any opportunity.
· A specific action may require a project manager who can envision an entire project lasting many months, years from the back-end to the beginning. Yet the project manager assigned to the task and action can only visualise the project on a weekly basis from Monday to Friday and is lacking the vision to fulfil the requirements of the role.
The more time I spend being mentored and coached by Tony, the more I realised how it’s wise to embrace both sides of life, the good and the bad, the challenge and the support. As a well-respected teacher and human behavioural expert, Tony teaches his clients globally on the dangerous effects of one-sided way of thinking, behaving and acting.
In his five time number one international best-selling book A Path to Wisdom, he explains in details how individuals who display emotional outbursts and have tendencies to control others and force them to do things based on fear, tend to avoid the pain or the challenge they may be given and only focus on the pleasure.
Truth is, not being open to or being able to accept the challenge, you may find yourself living a one-sided illusion that in long-term may be damaging your health, energy and your overall quality of life. Having a fulfilled life becomes an unattainable goal and may lead you to crumble under challenge as your perceptions may be skewed. Often people with bias to one-sided thinking can’t see how the challenge is there to help you learn, grow and transform.
Tony taught me how important it is for me to write the challenges that I and others may come across for each action that needs to be completed and how to incorporate it into the Permit Action Plan. I expected to come up against some issues, but this time I was prepared as they were clearly outlined in the plan, which helped me overcame those challenges fast.
Before, when I was doing similar tasks, when a challenge would show in any projects I was working on, I would feel anger, angst, tension or emotional charge against individuals. Tony taught me how by planning on how to handle a challenge or a risk in advance, I practically reduced my negative response to zero.
If one were able to measure the cost of such poor planning and employee emotional outbursts, one would realise the true cost which would run into millions of pounds, it is why I know that every company that employs an educator like Tony will increase their productivity, employee engagement, and the bottom line.
If the above has inspired you, do not forget to check my final part three of Improve Your Business Performance series of articles where I will share even more tips on what companies, leaders and senior managers can do to save time, energy and money. Thus indirectly creating millions of pounds by simply changing employee and management behaviours.
Kindest Regards,
Paul McMonagle
P.S. Are you ready to master your life, monetise your wisdom, and commit to maximising your personal and business power, potential, and performance? Do you want to overcome your business challenges, wealth building obstacles, receive your worth, get that promotion you know you deserve and increase your productivity and energy? If the answer is YES to any of the questions above then I highly recommend for you to get in touch with Tony and book an initial two-hour consultation or a full business immersion day by e-mailing his PA Alma [email protected] Just like me, I know you will be guided on how to create long-lasting personal, professional or the business breakthroughs you may be seeking.