I have wasted so much time over the past 20 years not “closing circles” in my business, and so have you. So let’s stop beating ourselves up over it and let’s fix the endless loop of starting and not finishing projects!
When I spend time with someone who is that much more successful than me, I’m going to put my learning hat on and within the last month, I have enjoyed meetings with a billionaire. A full fledged, cash in the bank “billy” and if you met him, you would never know. He is gracious, humble and unassuming. During our last meeting together, he asked me “how many projects do you have going on within your company at one time?” My answer was 50. He called me crazy. He told me that he and his team never have more than 1 or 2 at a time – EVER. What’s unique about this philosophy is that he allocates his entire team on the small number of projects and they start and finish them within 1 week max. All hands on deck, massive action, focus and results. By the end of the year, if they complete two projects per week, he said they will accomplish 104 meaning projects, and his business can thrive.
What a wake up call for me…I waste a ton of time starting projects that never get finished. Additionally, my team is often unfulfilled at the end of the week, because we work on so many projects that don’t get finished. Below is the form that we created to fix our problem of NOT closing circles, and the results have already been magical. Use this sheet in your organization. Ask your people to fill it out on Monday morning and then review it on Friday to see what was worked on AND completed by you and your team.
HOW TO — USE THIS SHEET IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
1. Each department head should use it weekly.
2. Within the circle (on the lines) they should write in the projects (circle) they are working on for the week.
3. The 2 large circles should be your biggest projects/focus. The sheet has a total of 11 circles (I can’t do just 1-2), you need to determine the proper amount of projects your team can handle.
4. Once the project is started by writing it on the lines, the “circle” has started. When complete, take a pen and connect the lines…”close the circle”
5. I suggest that your team fills this out on Monday morning and then you meet again on Friday to determine how many and what “circles” were closed.
6. Stay focused on using this sheet each week and the results will be incredible within your organization!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Matt Manero is the Founder and President of Commercial Fleet Financing, Inc. (CFF) located in Dallas, TX. CFF is celebrating its 20th year in business and provides financing for commercial fleet vehicles such as box trucks, cargo vans, big rigs, tow trucks, dump trucks and construction equipment. With annual funding of $100+ million per year, CFF is the proud recipient of the 2014 & 2015 Inc. 500/5000 fastest growing private companies in America. Learn more at www.cffantionwide.com, @mattmanero or call 972.247.8447 phone. #closingcircles
