moneyFYI
Financial Freedom Is Merely Organized Common Sense
Measure Results
My local Ford dealer accomplishes something when he delivers a new vehicle. Possibly a used one, or possibly service, but new vehicle is primary. His stock in trade is vehicles and he measures success by how many he delivers, how satisfied is the customer and what ancillary services result.
On the other hand, the stock in trade of politicians, TV pundits and newspaper columnists is language – words. They believe they have done something useful when they deliver words.
The Ford dealer cannot implement his mandate unless he has a logistical system to back up his mission. He is closely tied to the real world, because any mistakes are quickly fed back by way of diminished future transactions. If he is very bad, probably no future transactions. Loyalty has to be earned. Implementation is high priority.
What about the folks who deliver words? Do they measure how successful the words were in the real world? Not often, in my experience. Are they held to account for that? Not often. Loyalty is transient and unimportant if there are new followers. Implementation is a zero priority.
It does not matter what you say or plan to do. It matters what you actually accomplish. It is the old “Talk is cheap because there is so much of it.” idea.
Two time Super Bowl winning head coach and new inductee in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bill Parcels had it figured out when talking about lack of production from one of his players. “You judge a trapper by his furs.”
A trapper with no furs is not a good trapper, right now, no matter what the other variables may be. Getting it done matters. How, not so much. Just like the trapper, you judge a salesman by his production.
Don Shaughnessy is a retired partner in an international accounting firm and is presently with The Protectors Group, a large personal insurance, employee benefits and investment agency in Peterborough Ontario. don.s@protectorsgroup.com
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