Print version Aug 2008: How good are your questions?
Personal Message from Robin: How good are your questions?
Brilliant people and brilliant
companies are curious. They constantly scan the world around them. They
scrutinize their efforts and results. They look within at their values.
And they do it regularly. Quite simply they are wildly disciplined
about asking the fundamental questions.
Great questions help you focus. They strip away the clutter in your
thinking and give you clarity. Clarity that drives better decisions and
results. Without disciplined curiosity you get distracted by the
busyness of business and miss the unseen opportunities.
Here are the fundamental questions that, when you ask them regularly,
will give you the clarity to shine.
1. What has to happen over the next 90 days for me to feel that this was the best 3 months of my life or business?
2. How do I want to be remembered at the end of my days?
3. As compared to my potential, how am I performing?
4. What five things lead to the success of my most successful peers?
5. What are my non-negotiables? (The things that I will always do, or the values I will not violate.)
Market changing business people, world dominating athletes and
visionary artists ask themselves the same questions again and again.
The fundamental questions don't change. The answers will change as you
get to your next level of greatness. However, the questions remain the
same. Having the discipline to ask yourself these questions on a
regular basis will transform your business and your life. I know this
because it has been so effective with the CEOs, entrepreneurs and
athletes I work with as an executive coach.
Finally, here
are 5 big questions that great businesses regularly ask
themselves:
1. What business are we truly in?
2. What will delight our customers?
3. If we weren't in this business, selling this product or using this
process already would we start doing it now?
4. What has changed about our customers, competitors and environment recently?
5. What have been our unexpected successes or failures?
In
Leadership,
QUOTES TO REFLECT ON
"The leader of the past knows how to answer. The leader of the future will know how to ask." Peter Drucker
"I surround myself with art. I spend time in art galleries. I read design and fashion magazines. And I visit cool restaurants. It's all art to me (isn't everything in life art?)." Robin Sharma
"If you're doing something a certain way because it's always been done that way, then you're probably doing it wrong." Colin Baden, VP Design, Oakley Inc.
Our learning programs have helped thousands of
individuals and companies dramatically improve their accountability,
productivity and customer service. Our clients include FedEx, GE, BP,
Nike, IBM, Castrol, Unilever, The Harvard Business School, Microsoft, Yale University, NASA and many
more of the world's best known organizations.
Independent
Survey Puts Robin as #2 in the Top Ten List of Leadership Gurus Leadershipgurus.net
ranked Robin #2 of the top 10 leadership gurus in the world. In a
survey that went to over 22,000 business thinkers world-wide Robin was
recognized for the originality of his ideas, his international impact
and his presentation style.
ORGANIZATIONAL
SOLUTIONS
Take your team and organization to the next level of "world-class".
Leadership presentations, seminars and speeches are content-rich,
dynamic, high impact and are proven to deliver strong return on
investment for training expenditure. Robin's presentations have helped
thousands of leaders around the world deliver better results and
achieve corporate strategic objectives.
Keynotes and Workshops: Bring
Robin to your sales meeting or association conference and experience
one of the superstars of the professional speaking industry. He will
wow your people with his powerful and results-oriented insights into
leadership. Want
more details?
