Soar to Success August 2016

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Our natural human tendencies guide us to focus
our reflections on when business is struggling.b
Maybe sales are down, costs are skyrocketing,
unexpected costs arise, or employee retention is
declining.b This type of reflection is more commonly
known as damage control.b These reflections
generally require immediate action and do little
to promote growth; rather it inspires stabilization
of the business while rarely, if ever stimulating
business progression.
Also when business is booming the natural
tendency is to continue status quo.bThe assumption
is that; if it ain’t broke…don’t fix it.b However, when
business is performing productively is exactly when
reflection impacts future business performance
most effectively. The definition
that is most applicable is, “a thought occurring
in consideration or meditation.”b The definition
should also include the thought that is considered
is purposeful and based on experience.b
The fact is that when a colleague, friend, spouse,
or acquaintance asks, “How was your day?” our
answer is a form of reflection.b Deliberate thought
over the activities of the day is taking place, the day’s
experiences are being considered, and depending on
the circumstances, future actionmay or may not take
place based on those reflections. b However these
reflections die a natural death if we don’t take action. b
A case study performed by the Harvard Business
School determined the effectiveness of reflection.b
The study concluded that reflection in business
when performed consistently increases employee
performanceatall levels.bTheconclusionwasderived
from comparing two work groups that performed
comparatively similar job functions.b One group
was instructed to end their workday 15 minutes
early each day to take time to reflect on the day’s
performance while the second group continued to
work the last 15 minutes thereby completing more
of the assigned work.b The outcome was that over
a brief time the group engaging in the deliberate
reflection performedmore effectively and efficiently
as a result of the debriefing and insights gained
from the daily reflection.b
The process of reflection must encompass the
following steps in order to be productive:
REFLECT TO REALIZE
BUSINESS GROWTH
BY THE MERIT GROUP
Without reflection, we go blindly
on our way, creating more unintended
consequences, and failing to achieve
anything useful
~ Margaret Wheatley
SOAR TO SUCCESS / AUGUST 2016 / Business Acceleration Strategies