On this 174th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I intend to fully define another "basic" necessary for running a brilliant business and living a happy life: Guiding Principles. A GUIDING PRINCIPLE is born out of a corporate philosophy; they are any principles or precepts that guide an organization throughout its life in all circumstances, irrespective of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work or the top management. So, in a nutshell, guiding principles are guides. I've gone on to use them in my life as Action Statements, Challenges, Reminders and Decision Filters to "guide" myself and those of you listening to my content.
I'll explain in more detail but before I go there, I want to compare guiding principles to a real-life scenario I've used teaching my teenage daughters how to drive. Most recently, on Friday late afternoon, I had Lizzy in my car teaching her the basics. For anyone who has taught a teenage son or daughter to drive, you know that you start high level like where the accelerator and brake are located. We discussed how the blinker works and finally we got used to the car and started the drive. Yes, you go to a parking lot or an area where there is very little traffic if any. It is one of the most nerve-racking experiences for a parent ever and really is the rite of passage for your son or daughter becoming a teenager. Once you teach the basics to a teenager who is thinking more about talking to their friends than they are focused the road, you get into the next level of concepts, let's call them "driving principles”:
- Spacing in the lane. Moving over slightly if you've got more room on one side than the other.
- Speeding up and braking to maintain proper distance between you and the car in front of you.
- Always checking your rear-view mirror or side mirrors before lane changes.
- Using your blinkers for lane changes.
- What the different signs mean with real life examples of what can happen if you don't abide by them.
- Pedestrian crossings and right of way.
- Turning right on red.
You get the point. In life, I call these "driving principles" something different. We call them "guiding principles" and over the years, I've used phrases that I've either collected from other thought leaders or created myself. As I mentioned earlier when defining a guiding principal, they are normally action statements, a challenge via a question, a reminder or a decision filter. All of them lead to the main guiding principle, my battle cry:
Happy Brokers Sell More Real Estate.
Here are my favorites - you've heard them all before:
Action Statements and Challenges:
- "Pump the well."
- "High performance starts with elimination."
- "Thoughts create feelings. Feelings create action. Action creates the results."
- "If you see consistency, look for a system, process, habit or routine."
- "Protect the downside."
- "Are you busy or effective?"
- "Discipline shows up when motivation doesn't."
- "Plan, sprint and celebrate."
- "Are You Interested or Are You Committed?"
- "Not executing your Vision is a nightmare."
The Most Used: "People hire who they know, like, and trust."
Reminders and Decision Filters:
- "Plant in the spring and harvest in the fall."
- "Focus on getting 1% better every day."
- "Success leaves clues."
- "You cannot automate thoughtfulness."
- "A confused mind says no."
- "The last 6 letters in action spell attraction."
- "You are your habits."
- "20% of your clients steal 80% of your joy."
- "If a person doesn't respect your boundaries, they don't respect you."
- "Hope is not an action plan."
The most used: "If it's not a hell yes, it's a hell no."
The way my mind works, I need to be reminded constantly about the basics, the real drivers of what creates success in this business or really any other business for that matter. In my social media, you'll find them in "Blue Squares" on my feeds and stories branded with my logo etc. On my weekly email, there's always a Guiding Principle prominently displayed. My goal is not to teach you EXACTLY what to do, I'll let NINJA and other coaches and leaders do that. My overarching purpose is to teach you how to "drive" your business. I'm not going to tell you what car to drive. If you are sitting next to me learning how to drive your business, GUIDING PRINCIPLES are what I will teach you. From there, you've got to go out and learn for yourself.
Once you've got the confidence in understanding and knowing these GUIDING PRINCIPLES, running a brilliant business and living a happy life will seem like second nature. You'll find YOUR lane and you'll be HAPPY staying in it.
