Two of my clients are graduating this week.

"Judy" has been studying how to run her professional services firm in a more productive and profitable way for over 6 years. "Michael" has been getting a masters degree in marketing his business.

Don't let appearances fool you! They aren't in formal school environments. Yet I know from personal experience how powerful the recognition of being finished with one stage and moving on to the next can be. The characteristics that mark your advancement in school are just as appropriate for our advancement in your business lives.

There are specific ideas you can learn from graduations that will have you advancing from your old habits, old decisions and old actions.

Step 1 - Identify What You Need To Know

I know - it seems obvious when I say it. But most entrepreneurs I work with are so busy in the 'doing' that they never stop and ask "What do I need to know to accomplish my goals?" Successful leaders and managers spend time figuring out what their staff needs to learn. You need to ask yourself what information or capabilities you need.

When you commit to finding out what you need to know your attention shifts from 'what I now know,' to 'what I'm ready to know now.'

Step 2 - Find A Source To Learn From

Marvelous things happen when you declare you want to know - new people and new sources of information suddenly present themselves as your perfect source of learning!

I've learned over the years from comments made by more experienced professionals, from books and articles, from conferences, teleseminars and from formal educational programs. And at times I even learn what I need to know through the internet or someone sitting next to me on a plane. And let's not forget there are informational interviews, golf buddies, vendors and magazines.

Step 3 - Calendar It To Get It Done

Deciding to get information is not enough. We're all living very busy lives and we need to use the tools that keep us moving from idea to action!

Pull out your calendar and block off 15-minutes to start your search. Once you've started it you can calendar the next block of time and the next until you've found your source, and probed for the information you need. That may be setting a date with yourself to read, to go to a conference or to sit with an expert to get answers directly from them over their desk or a cup of coffee.

Step 4 - Put The Information To Use

The best schools are those that not only share the information but also give the students the opportunity to apply it and learn from the results.

The same holds true for you in your business. To get High Payoff results, you need to put information to the test by using it, tweaking it, modifying it until it proves to be a tool that will make your efforts more productive and profitable.

Step 5 - Celebrate It

Re-balance your life! Don't just cross things off that To Do list. Our daily lives are filled with To Do lists. Hour by hour we stare at To Do lists that are the same as declarations of everything that needs doing, that hasn't been solved yet, that's a problem or challenge.

Our souls need moments of acknowledgment for what has been accomplished. That includes learning, applying new information, getting new results. Each of these is a mini-graduation as you increase your ability to create High Payoff results.

Get the proportions shifted to give more attention to what has been accomplished, learned, applied, created, achieved! Announce what you've learned to other people at work and at home. State it specifically in meetings. Report on exactly what you did in each of those first 4 steps AND the result that you've created.

Make these steps techniques that you use and you'll soon find yourself giving more and more attention to ideas and actions that will move you forward to your next level, and your business success along with you. You'll have ongoing opportunities to bathe in cheers and to share them with others around you.

Congratulations on your graduation!

Copyright (c) 2008 Linda Feinholz