Does Your Calendar Show Your Values?

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During a recent conference in Cleveland one of the keynote speakers was talking about his personal beliefs and his priorities.  To the surprise of everyone, he showed in a slide, his tombstone with his life goals and what he wants to be remembered for.  Surprised, too?  You should be.  Most business owners I meet have only a very vague idea of what their vision for their business is.  When I follow up and ask the question: "do your business results support your life vision adequately"  I get only blank stares.

Why is this important?  First and foremost we are in business to create the means to implement our life vision.  Most owners will say "but, you are wrong ... we are in business to serve our clients!"  This is true; however it is only the second reason for taking the risk and running your own business.  The first and foremost reason is to create the means to implement your life vision.  So check where your business is taking you and if it creates the means you are looking for.  If not, you need to come up with a plan to either change the business or abandon it.

If your business passes the test, then it is your job to create the compelling vision which will drive your business and your associates in the desired direction.  For me, leadership is the creation of the vision, the clarification of the values it stands for, inspiration and energizing of your team and coaching each team member to be successful.

So how, you might ask, does this all tie into the tombstone and what I want to be remembered for?

It is simple: most people do not want to be remembered for spending their life in the business, never having time or interest to connect deeply to their family members and friends, never having time to attend functions or care about others.  As a matter of fact, I never saw a tombstone stating "I only wished that I would have spent more time in the business".  Like this keynote speaker, we all have a clear picture of what we want to be remembered for.  I hear a lot: "deeply caring person, loving spouse, fun to be with, an honest person one could trust".  If you agree with this, how do you make sure, that in the daily urgency of tasks and issues, you don't lose track of what is important to you?

Again, our speaker had the answer: "Your calendar shows me your values".  Take out your calendar and highlight the time you spent deeply connecting with other people, being there for your family and friends and spending time congruent with your values and beliefs.  Most entrepreneurs fall way short.  We are just too busy running a business, supporting our customers and associates to have time and energy left to live life.  Is there a way to change this?  Yes, there is.  Start by looking at the next month.  Now, block out the time needed for activities congruent with your values and personal vision and add time to sharpen your saw by polishing the skills you need daily to be more effective.  Only then allow the business tasks to populate your calendar.

Always remember that 80% of your success is driven by 20% of your activities.  This means that not all we do every day, week or month is creating success.  So find the other 80% of tasks which are not effective and eliminate them to create time for you and your values.

Good Luck!

© 2009 Copyrighted by Dr. Joe Mayer, Managing Partner of the Mayer Business Group,  who helps business owners, professionals and their key employees to grow their businesses by focusing on vision and strategy.  Joe can be reached at JMayer@MayerBusinessGroup.com; http://www.mayerbusinessgroup.com/