Any endeavor you would begin starts with a question: "What do I want to come of this? What is my intent?" The first R for success is RESULTS. What results do you want? When you are starting a business or a project, clarify what you want. If you are already leading a department or an organization, clarify what you want.



Most people in the world do not know what they want. They know what they don't want, and so they spend most of their time thinking about what they don't want. People complain, worry, and criticize. None of these actions create what you want.

It begins with a dream, a thought of creating something meaningful. As leaders and entrepreneurs we must move beyond merely dreaming and clarify what results we want to produce. The key piece is feelings. How would success feel? The reason people do anything is based on how they think they will feel. Words like joy, fulfillment, delight, making a contribution, gratitude, meaning, and love come to mind. It is this feeling that creates the passion and drive that will have you doing what it takes to create your successful business.

Whenever people start telling me about how much money I can make in their business opportunity I tend to hang up, delete, or say "no thanks". Money is great, and it usually isn't enough of a motivator by itself. It is important to enjoy what you are doing. Money and business success may make you feel good. It is more likely that feeling good will help you make money and success. In other words, our ability to feel successful right now helps us to create the results we want. Success is created from the inside out.

Your vision for success is something you begin to live right now. Think, feel, walk, talk, and act like a successful person. Never say you are "trying to start a business." You are either starting one or you aren't!

Once you start you need to clarify your identity. What is your mission? The mission involves what you do, who you serve, and why it is important. What are your values? Values involve how you do business and how you treat people. Clarity about who you are and where you are going will lead to the results you want.

The second R is RESPONSIBILITY. Responsibility is your ability to respond. It means that you move beyond blaming and recognize that you create your experience, therefore it is you who must respond. Businesses will always have ups and downs and problems to solve. You can spend your energy focusing what you don't want (the problem), or you can spend your energy focusing on what you do want (solutions).

As an executive coach I have seen so much waste and stress created by people blaming, being defensive, denying responsibility, and avoiding problems. At the same time I have seen businesses where people communicate openly and honestly, and consciously align their thoughts and behavior with the results they want to produce.

Responsibility doesn't mean that we never blame or complain. It means that we catch ourselves doing it and move toward resolution. When we find ourselves complaining we can ask "What do I want?", and we can act on it.

The third R is RESPONSIVENESS. Responsiveness is about being in the moment with other people. It means that my customers, my coworkers, and others are real people with real needs and concerns. In business people get so focused on task they forget about people. People are treated as objects. A complaining customer becomes an inconvenience. An unhappy employee becomes a problem. The result in these cases is the inconvenience and the unhappiness are increased.

We need to envision every person wearing a little sign that says: "Please remember to treat me as important." We need to listen, to acknowledge, to respond, and to help people meet their needs. Most people want to be taken seriously and not dismissed. If we can be responsive to our employees and customers, they will want to work with us. Ultimately the value we create is found in the value we offer to others. Success is about meeting the needs of those you serve. If you can do that, you will produce the results you intend.