Deliver Results

My lifelong partnership and journey with horses is the inspiration for “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth”. Lessons from the stable to the workplace.

Strong leaders understand that delivering results is both a journey and a destination.

For example, a business can deliver outstanding results in Q1, but if there is no plan for sustaining desired results over time, there will be a short-term win but a long-term loss.

Effective leaders believe that generating sustainable results requires a comprehensive plan with focus on a variety of metrics. In short, it's more than just generating a near-term award or spike in revenue. Ensuring there is a plan for obtaining the right resources and fostering the right partnerships is also key.

When it comes to inspiring a team, delivering results can also be as simple enabling employees to learn new skills by letting them run projects. This can foster loyalty and de-risk the business from attrition of key resources.

Similarly, partnering with horses isn’t always about winning a competition. With horses, sometimes the desired result is focused on overcoming anxiety at shows or fear of separation from another horse. Taking shortcuts in training or focusing on a long-term result without proper preparation can result in a very bad outcome such as injury to you or the horse.

Competing successfully (delivering results) requires attention to all aspects of the training and management program. If the horse is fearful or unhealthy, he will not compete well. Putting a horse in a competitive situation without the proper preparation will almost always yield undesirable results.

Hopefully you agree that the horse analogy is very relevant to business!

Failure to properly train staff, ineffectively managing programs, lack of preparation, deploying resources incorrectly (or not at all) are all things that can cause undesirable business results.

For many, delivering good results is a destination but strong leaders understand that attention to the details throughout the journey helps to ensure you reach the destination.

Share your thoughts!