2 min readDraw The Line

by Guy Gage | August 21, 2016 | Uncategorized

What is the one thing that has been on your mind for a while…some habit, discipline or practice… that you know you should tackle, but you just haven’t committed yourself to it yet? You’re on the fence, balancing between thinking you should do it and actually making the commitment to do it. Well, it’s time. It’s time to take the bold step of drawing a line in the sand and committed yourself to it.

Drawing the line separates what you do now from what you will do going forward. The line represents the end of what was and the beginning of what will be.

So, the question is, what line do you need to draw? Here are a few examples.

I’ve been thinking about being in regular contact with my referral sources for a while, and now I’m going to commit myself to doing it. Whatever happens, I WILL meet with three contacts EVERY WEEK. There will be NO excuses. There is no week that I couldn’t do this, even in the busiest of seasons. I will not let myself off the hook even once. This discipline will force me to organize my week better, focus on what is important, and will benefit both me and the firm.

I know I can add more value to my clients than just providing compliance documents. From this point forward, I WILL assess one client EACH WEEK to determine one problem area they have and how I can help: a suggestion for their situation, an offer of an additional service, a recommendation of a referral for a service we don’t provide. I will identify a client to think about at the beginning of the week and will contact that client by the end of the week to schedule a meeting with them. No excuses.

Giving immediate feedback is important but I always find it inconvenient—I don’t have the time, I haven’t thought about how to say it, or it’s just easier to let it go. From this point forward, I will not miss opportunities to let someone know when they do well or to correct something so they won’t do it again. I will not take the easy way, but the effective way—the leader way.

Drawing the line is more than a superficial, feel-good exercise. If you take it seriously, it will be a game-changer for you. Once you get serious enough, mad enough or fed-up enough, you will follow through on the very thing you’ve wanted to do all along.

So what’s your line? What will you commit yourself to that will make you better and set you apart? The time is now. Draw a line. Write it down. Tell someone. Tell me; I want to know. Just do it NOW.

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