A rough draft of my core values

Defining the core values for my life/business…

1. Always try your best, but have fun while doing it. Life is too short to not have fun. You should enjoy what you do, but that doesn’t mean you should just “coast.” Work hard, play hard. Try your best to become the best. How can you become an expert in whatever it is you do? You may not have the most natural talent, but that’s out of your control. You can always control your effort and your attitude.

2. Put people over profit. If you value making the right decision/doing what’s best for others, people will like and trust you, leading to repeat business or referrals. Treat people like people and the profits will come. You may take a hit in the short-term, but in the long run you will be better off for it.

3. Be humbly confident. You need to have confidence in yourself or else how can you expect others to have confidence in you? You need to believe that you can figure everything out – even if it means asking for help. But the key is to be confident without being arrogant. Be humble. You don’t need to brag to everyone about how great you are. Let your actions do the talking. Stand out straight, keep your head up, look people in the eyes, walk with purpose, and speak clearly, succinctly, and loudly.

4. Be a dreamer AND a doer. You should have big dreams/goals. People won’t understand it. They’ll say it’s not realistic. And they’re right, if you only dream, but don’t take action. Have big dreams, set a plan, then take action immediately. What are you doing today that is bringing you closer to your goals/dreams/ambitions?

5. Perseverance. If you’re setting worthy goals, you will often stumble on your way towards success. But you have to keep going. Don’t let little setbacks affect you. You’ll get through this hardship faster by continuing to move/take action.

Finding root issues

Identify what the root of the issue is…is it a people issue, a process issue, or a tool issue? Does it boil down to having the wrong person on your team? Do you have the right people, but you haven’t trained them well enough or put enough processes in place to allow them to succeed? Or do you have the right people and processes, but they don’t have the tools to succeed?

Discuss potential solutions to your issues. At first, anything should be an option to solve your issue. After all options are on the table, then you can start eliminating those that are not as applicable. Be sure to always keep an open mind and don’t shut down opposing viewpoints.

Solve the key issue. Make sure that this is not a band-aid, but a long-term solution. You don’t want to “solve” something temporarily, only to have it crop back up again in a few months.