Aug 2024 Business Success Happens When You Think and Play Above the Line
What does above the line mean? It starts with thinking and playing above the line of responsibility. When you take responsibility and ownership for all that is happening in your business (good and bad), you are empowered to do whatever it takes to make your business successful.
When you don’t operate above the line of responsibility, you are not in control and operate from the area of being a victim and feel at the effect of everything.
Let’s go into this important explanation in a little more detail.
Victim
If you blame others, like your staff, contractors, clients or the economy for any bad situation in your business, you will be thinking like a victim and will remove the power and desire to fix the issues.
Blame – You are always blaming others, the economy or something else for what happens. In other words, you think it was something or someone else that caused the issue.
Excuses – There is always a reason or excuse why something doesn’t happen. You don’t think it’s your fault.
Denial – You are constantly in denial of making mistakes and being the cause of the problems.
So, how do you get your power back? How do you need to think and act?
Empowered
Ownership – No matter what is happening in your business or life, you take ownership for it. As soon as you start thinking this way, you realise you have control and can start making positive changes.
Responsibility – As soon as you declare: I am a responsible person and regardless of what is happening, I am prepared to fix the situation, things start improving.
Accountability – Being accountable means you have made a promise to find a way to fix your situation. You are accountable to yourself, your team and your family to progress and make your business successful.
Playing above the line gives you the power to change something you don’t like. When you start thinking and playing above the line, you are control of your business and life.
An example:
A landscaper called me recently and asked for some help. He explained that he had had a bad year as three projects didn’t go well. His Team Leader had made some mistakes, and the jobs took much longer than expected. Also, two clients were hard to please, asking for aspects of the jobs to be replaced.
I asked him what he felt needed changing. He said that it was his Team Leader and those two clients that had made it a tough year. He said he needed to find a replacement for one of his employees and then work with better clients.
Clearly, this landscaper was not taking responsibility for the year of losses and stress. He didn’t recognise the issues in the way he qualified potential clients, understood the client’s needs, quoted jobs properly and carefully, informed the client of the details of the estimate. He also didn’t take responsibility for the way he trained and managed his Team Leaders and ensured the projects were installed properly. So, I suggested that if he wanted to transform his business, it had to start with him taking full ownership of what had happened. He needed to stop blaming others, then make a commitment to set up proper processes, systems and refine them until he achieved the desired results.
When we operate from a position of empowerment (responsibility, ownership and accountability), we are determined and committed to make positive changes. We operate from a place of confidence and attract aligned clients. We explain, train and encourage our team members to execute great standards and we make decisions that work in our favour.
And that position, in my opinion, is the only way to run a business!