Listen on iTunes | Listen on Soundcloud | Download the MP3
This week’s KICK ASS Career we are on A – for Action
When I start a video, my videographer says “ACTION!”
Now I have to be “ON”. If I didn’t know what I was going to say, I’d be lost. When the director yells ACTION, we have to ACT.
When else in life do we get such a great signal that it’s time to take action? If you have your kick-ass career in gear, you know it’s always time for action. But how do you know if it is right action?
So many people I talk to don’t know what action to take. They have so many ideas, so many interests. The number one way to determine what action to take…Ready? The big secret?
First, a story from the field. A few years ago I was leading a performance improvement group at work, one of the team members was an Air Force pilot. We were in the middle of a massive change project. This was going to rock people’s work and push people into a bit of turmoil we knew it was going to be big. The balance would be off for a short while, but it would streamline major processes at work. We had the leadership team together and we hit an impasse. Well, the Air Force pilot team member, a bit of an introvert and not wanting to ruffle anyone’s feathers, finally spoke up and said, “Look. I was an Air Force pilot, when we charted our course, we knew where we were going. We had no doubt where we were headed. Target city A to target city B. Often we were off course. Corrections had to be made all the time. This correction, that correction, this correction, that correction, all to stay on course. If you never leave the ground with your airplane, you never have the opportunity to make those mid-course corrections. You will never get there”
He was so right. Once you take action, feedback comes in. The wind changes, the air currents change, the timing changes. Just like life, some predictable events, some not so predictable. External effects are changing while you’ve taken your action. You have to make mid-course corrections. Get feedback, take a mid-course correction. Take ACTION again.
The ONE THING YOU MUST DO is know where you are headed!
If you don’t know where you’re going, you can’t make those mid-course corrections. When you take action, your number one thing is, KNOW WHERE YOU ARE HEADED!
Don’t fear not getting there on the first step or your first action, or your second. You’re going to make mid-course corrections. Maybe you’ve had this come up in your career before, but when you have a kick-ass career, you take action and you know full well that you have to make corrections along the way. Keep your cool! Make the correction. Don’t get frustrated. Know that it is part of the plan to make these corrections. Feedback is welcome. Feedback is what you need to succeed!
Make the necessary mid-course corrections and you will have a MOST LIFE and a kick-ass career. The number one thing you need to know before you take action is, “where am I going?”
The act, then correct, then act again and repeat. DOWNLOAD THE IDEASheet!
