Use the Principle of Two Circles to Make Better Choices
I just had a conversation, with a CEO I coach, who was frustrated because he was thrilled about the possibilities to grow and scale his company if he could only spend 50% to 60%, in the Growth Quadrant (from my upcoming book 4 Forces of Growth), but was stuck in 10% to 20%.
And, he had legitimate reasons, in his current reality, about why he couldn’t get to that 50% or 60% threshold.
Read more about the 4 Forces model here.
I thought that the internal tension he felt was perfect because it meant that he gets it. And even though he can’t do much about it, now, he’ll find a way to get there and do the right thing for his company.
If he couldn’t get to that 50% to 60% threshold, even 10% more can bring better results. More about that here.
The Power of Principles
This is the power of the frameworks and principles that guide what we do. Sometimes, we can’t always spend our time the way we should, but they give us a direction in which to move.
Any framework needs to be flexible enough to accommodate whatever phase we are in and to recognize we are human.
Big Circles, Little Circles
Our conversation reminded me of Brent Parent, an amazing strategic CEO who talked about 95/5 in big circles and little circles, which I talk about in this Master Class video.
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- The big circle – or the Growth Quadrant – represents the opportunities that truly move your business ahead.
This is where you spend 95% of your time to continue to growth your business.
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- The little circle focuses on fixing problems. This is where you spend 5% of your time,
Brent used to say that if any of his team wanted to talk about problems, they were welcome to come to his office between 8:00 and 8:30 any morning – and he’d be there at 9:00.
He figured that the amazing people he had hired to lead his divisions could figure out their own problems. The only thing he wanted to talk about was growth and opportunity.
The Challenge
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- What can you stop being involved in – meetings, projects or doing other peoples’ jobs – so that you can free yourself up to invest more time in the growth quadrant/ big circle of opportunities?
Other Blogs
- What Would Happen if You Spent Another 10% of Time on Growth?
- Delegate Tasks – Including Your Strengths
- How Successful Leaders Prepare for the Week Ahead
Older Podcasts
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