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Writer's pictureCody Stevens

Why the Strategy Doesn't Work When You Try it

Most things sold today revolve around strategy.


"Buy this course..."


"This system will change your life..."


"This product will make it easier to..."


Let me be clear: a good strategy is essential to your success.


There are also unlimited strategies, many of which have tons of proof that they work with the right execution.


With that being said, people put the cart before the horse, looking for a shortcut. The strategy is step 3 — not step 1. Many people begin to implement a new strategy without the foundation of what it takes to be able to execute it at the highest level.


When that happens, the strategy will rarely lead to the results you want, regardless of how hard you work.


Here's What I Mean

Over the years, we found that our processes and training worked for some people and not others. We re-structured our interview processes over and over... and over again, thinking that was the solution. And while they're important, and our interviews improved exponentially over time, we were still dealing with the issue.


After awhile, we recognized that we were training the right way, but we were teaching the wrong things.


We focused heavily on tactics and processes, but we were missing the most important part of the person's role: their importance to the company and context behind why it is so important for them to become independent in that role.


Fast-forward to today, here's the difference.


When we hire new employees at any of our companies, we always give them a clear progression path. However, rather than telling them the exact strategy, we start with the context and belief systems required to be successful. Regardless of his or her experience, the growth happens through the same stages.


We measure competency in ratios of independence rather than just knowledge, so if someone has more experience about the particular job, they may progress more quickly. However, knowing one part of the job should not imply competence in the entire role, and I can give endless examples of freshers outgrowing seasoned vets.


Being successful within a company requires that you understand the company's goals and how you can help achieve them. The faster someone embraces that, the more they win.


We adjusted our methods to promote based on this concept.


Here's how it works.


We use a delegation timeline. The first number is the new hire's capability to make an independent decision, and the second number is the percentage they rely on the company for guidance in their decision.


Delegation Percentages (Team Member / Company)

10/90 → 30/70 → 50/50 → 70/30 → 90/10


So, it may look something like this:


Onboarding to the Company. Depending on experience, the team member may have a varied understanding of the role they were hired to fill. However, they know very little about how the company operates, what we're looking to accomplish, and how to succeed in our culture.


At this stage, the new hire is expected to be able to make 10% of the decisions without guidance and delegate 90% of his or her decisions to what the company tells him or her to do.


Example: Be valuable to the culture, and embrace our core values with how you do the small things.


Role Training. The person may have a good grasp of what's expected and be learning about specific processes and procedures within the company. This person may accelerate to a 30/70 ratio at this stage, still relying heavy on leadership for decision-making guidance.


Example: Understand our products / services and respond to someone with an exceptional level of customer service.


Role Indoctrination. At this stage, the team member is working on the job with workload dependent on capacity. Someone more experienced may be able to grow to a 50/50 or 70/30 ratio during this period, while someone with less experience may be graduating to a working toward a 50/50 ratio.


Example: Grasp what is urgent and what is not, and prioritize accordingly.


Role Ownership. As the team member continues to become more comfortable and show a higher level of competency in the role, he or she should graduate to a 70/30 or 90/10 ratio.


Example: Developing training materials for others to progress more quickly and taking responsibility for solving problems hindering the company's most valuable priorities.


This concept of delegation allows the team member to progress at his or her speed and promote themselves through results-driven growth.


We use this method to find our best talent and let that talent rise to the top. However, there's an important concept embedded here.


A strategy won't work without the right skills, and someone will not intentionally develop those skills without believing they will be beneficial to their role.


By simply submersing the new hire into the company culture, expectations, core values, and success mechanisms, the drive to learn how to be more valuable and make decisions that benefit the overall success of the entire company grew exponentially.


This led to people independently growing their skills.


Fundamentally, strong beliefs precede capabilities, and capabilities are what lead to someone being able to implement the right strategies to get desired results (see graphic below).




When you lead with beliefs first, you teach people they must grow the skills/capabilities they need to become someone who can effectively implement a strategy.


However, when people lack the needed beliefs, because of the scatoma (blind spot), they cannot see how the strategy will lead to intended results.


Example: If I want someone to prospect people on Instagram, they need to believe that Instagram is a good place to prospect. Then, they need to be taught how to effectively reach out to people without pissing them off or getting blocked.


In contrast, if I neglect teaching them why Instagram is such a great place to grow business, they will try the strategy, get poor results, assume it doesn't work, and likely quit because they get burnt out.


If you want a strategy to work, the first step is to evaluate the beliefs needed for it to be a success.


If you don't take the time to do that, you're just gambling.





 

 


Cody Stevens, Founder of X Squared Systems


We teach businesses how to get unreal results by aligning their people with the vision.


P.S. If you're looking for a culture shift to take your business to the next level, check out our X Culture program.


P.P.S. Join our wait list for X Force, our private mastermind community, bringing incredible people together to learn, collaborate and dominate every area of life.


P.P.S. Send us an email with "Sell" if you're looking to sell your business. We can set up a call to see if your business is a good fit for us.


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