Focus on Results

by Neil I. Clark

One of the most important things you can do in any position is to establish, very clearly, what is expected of you. Focus on the results that the company would want you to achieve. These may, or may not, be evident. But even if they are, you should still be single-minded in clarifying these end-results. Get some agreement on this, as it is the foundation of any job.

You were placed in this position because certain things needed to happen in the organisation. You were probably chosen for the job, whenever that was, because of your knowledge and experience. Making those "things" happen, however, is how you will be judged. This is why you must firstly know precisely what your employer wants you to achieve. Get that known. Get that down cold!

Get it defined to the point where you can write it down on a piece of paper, then write it down. Put it in your wallet or purse. Paste it on the wall in front of you (if that’s not too tacky). Do whatever you have to, to ensure that you stay focused on that aspect of the job.

After that, everything that comes your way should be evaluated against this results-oriented statement. If you are asked to do something that does not seem to align with this statement, query it. Do it with tact, of course. Sometimes you have to do things outside your immediate area of responsibility in order to support the overall results of a team. You just want to understand which things are squarely on the purpose of your job, and which ones are team contributions.

By focusing on the end results, you are, in effect, putting your attention "out there" — beyond the barriers that stand between you and the achievement of your results. By concentrating on a point that is on the other side of the barriers (so to speak), you will find it easier to handle those barriers when you get to them. That old expression, "can’t see the wood for the trees", is very apt here.

If you spend your a few weeks doing everything to understand and achieve the results that the company wants, you will find some amazing things happening to you. One is, you’ll get to keep your job! Another is, you’ll find your work will be more fulfilling. You may even wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work! That’d be pretty amazing, wouldn’t it?