One of the oddest things I run into as a consultant and advisor to business owners, is the fact that so many just show up at work each morning like a security guard, and wait for the week to “happen.”

No wonder so many businesses are struggling! I mean there are major brands out there disappearing! Wouldn’t you think that by now, people would start to realize that the old ways of doing things are not working for them?

It’s not enough to just come in on Monday and HOPE that things are going to work out this week. It’s CRITICAL that we take on the perception and responsibilities of WINNERS…and yes, I said RESPONSIBILITIES…

Crazy, huh? Well, let me put it to you this way…do you think that Lance Armstrong had to accept a greater responsibility to win all those bike races?

How about John Elway, when he quarterbacked the Denver Broncos to TWO Super Bowl wins? What if John or Lance just “showed up on Monday” and waited to see how things were going to “happen?” Do you suppose either of them would have experienced the kind of fame, income, and admiration if they had just waited for a “lucky break?”

I think not.

I start out every week, (and every day for that matter), by taking a personal inventory each morning. By that, I mean that I wake up, stretch, and get into a mind frame of taking full responsibility for everything in my life. My health, my attitude, my income, my debt, and so on. Once there, I can easily see what I need to focus on personally, and I can make a short list of TODAY’S ACTION ITEMS.

It’s really important NOT to make a list bigger than I can get accomplished today…and preferably before noon! (It feels so GOOD to reach a feeling of accomplishment midway through my day, that it often fuels me to do another list at lunch time!)

I make my list in two categories. Items I need to accomplish myself, and items to DELEGATE to my team and staff. Then, depending upon what time it is in the AM (I am known for starting a bit before the team arrives at the office, like say 4 AM…), I usually call the team and begin, one at a time, visiting with each of them. I always focus first on their lives (“How was your evening/weekend?”), and let them tell me about their life and what’s going on…then I gently point them back to the day and I let them know clearly what I need and expect from them today. I always try to take care to explain the “why” rather than just give orders. I find they are much more conducive to my ideas and directions that way.

Once we accomplish that, I then set out to work on checking off each item on my own list, as time allows! It’s a wonderful way to keep things moving forward and making sure that even if something isn’t right during the day, progress RULES!