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Perk Up Your Business with a 'Persistence Review'

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Published: 29May2008
Word count: 775
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The common element everywhere in life and in business seems to be Persistence.

My clients are using their new management skills to create different results. My new MasterMind buddy Maritza Parra is getting her book published. And I've been holding the focus on getting three separate web sites designed and launched for different purposes.

Each of those endeavors requires deliberate attention in order to achieve the tasks of the goals we've set. And that attention leads to taking specific actions that achieve the overall Vision itself.

With the topic of persistence showing up in conversations daily I thought you'd appreciate my Top 5 Tips for Using High Payoff Persistence.

Each of them has been instrumental in creating results to cheer about.

Tip 1 - Notice 'The Way' You're Persistent

Persistence shows up in many ways in our lives. That relative who insists on making a request over and over until you say 'Yes' is living in one state of persistence we might call nagging.

While that trait can be annoying in interpersonal relations, that's exactly the trait you want in a staff member responsible for collections or new product design.

It's important that you know if your style is to be persistent towards an agree-upon goal, or as an obstacle to an effort others are trying to accomplish.

Once you recognize your style you'll be better able to describe the actions that are needed to accomplish your goals.

Tip 2 - Uncover Your Beliefs About Persistence

Your beliefs color the actions you choose. One of my clients shared his view that he'd be annoying and rude if he asked others to update him about the Human Resources progress on his six open positions twice in the same month.

As a result of that belief, he never asked and it was often two to three months before he'd see a single resume. When we shifted his belief to one that declared the issue was 'just a normal business topic to discuss' he got the departments attention and was interviewing appropriate candidates the following week.

His persistence was the grease that got other wheels turning.

Tip 3 - Identify Whether Persistence is Serving You or Getting In Your Way

Many years ago I offered to bring science fiction books to the daughter of a friend overseas. She'd been learning English and found the books fun reading and helpful in building out her vocabulary. At my request she sent a list of over 30 books she'd love to have.

Well I spent three weeks covering all of southern California's used book stored looking for every last one of them. I wanted to help and felt I'd said 'Yes' to getting her the entire list rather than 'Maybe.'

I lost sight of the fact that any six books would have been appreciated. And also I'm clear that my clients approve of my persistence when they bring me in to disentangle complex business issues and find their solutions.

While it's nice to be known by my clients and colleagues as 'dependable' and 'thorough' it's also useful to know when enough is enough.

Tip 4 - Practice Persistence Everywhere It Is Needed

The papers piling up on your office desk might get labeled 'messy and disorganized' even if you know what's where. Your team member who never delivers work on time might be labeled 'overworked'.

In either instance, it usually requires very little time to manage your paper or to manage yourself or your staff on an ongoing basis.

Practice persistence by calendaring a daily block of 15 minutes to organize and deal with your papers and another block of 15 minutes to set goals and get the status of projects with your staff.

Tip 5 - Distinguish Whether It's Persistence Or Procrastination

One of the lessons I teach my clients is that procrastination, putting off an action that your mind says you should be doing, is actually usually a signal that some issue needs solving. Very often my clients are facing a staff member's lack of performance on the job.

Ironically, all of these might be labeled procrastination - yet they're clearly a form of persistence - persisting in not dealing with uncomfortable situations.

Rather than criticize procrastination, probe your reason for putting things off. It might just be that information is missing that's required before you're ready to take action. Once you know that, you can get the information and step forward to solve the situation.

Use these five tips and you'll be able to give yourself high marks for mastering persistence!

Management expert, consultant, and coach Linda Feinholz is "Your High payoff Catalyst." Linda publishes the free weekly newsletter The Spark! to subscribers world-wide and delivers targeted solutions, practical skills and simple ways to build your business. If you're ready to focus on your High Payoff activities, accelerate your results and have more fun at it, get your FREE tips like these visit her site at www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com

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