DO IT NOW - What PACE are you setting?

Imagine you’re out for a brisk walk or a run with a big group—say 10, 20 folks—and you’re at the front of the pack. Who sets the pace? Dumb question, right? You do.

It’s the same in your business. As a leader, you set the pace. So how are you doing with pace-setting in your business? Are you a procrastinator, or are you the type who says, "Let’s get it done NOW"?

Some of us are born anti-procrastinators with the mindset of DO IT NOW. And some of us aren’t. Sometimes we procrastinate in just certain areas—maybe it’s not business . . . maybe it’s things related to health, relationships, or money. But remember, as the leader, you’re setting the pace.

I talk to leaders all the time who wonder why their team isn’t moving quickly. They ask, "Why isn’t my team keeping up?" Well, it starts with you. If you’re leading a walk and you’re moving slowly, or if you just say, "Hey gang, go out for a walk," how can you expect them to take the initiative and figure out what pace you want?

Let’s get specific. There are hundreds of little details where setting a fast, disciplined pace will make a huge difference. But here are three areas that are critical. If you procrastinate or let your team procrastinate in these three areas, your business just isn’t going to be as good as it can be. It’s that simple.

1. Following Up on Jobs That Need to Be “Signed” and Started

Jobs can get stuck for a whole variety of reasons—maybe the homeowners are on the fence and haven’t signed your work authorization. Maybe your estimator hasn’t gotten around to submitting the estimate to the adjuster. Or perhaps the estimate is stuck with the adjuster or TPA – isn’t that frustrating? Sometimes it’s stuck because you’re short on subcontractors or your schedule is booked out months in advance.

What’s the sense of urgency? What pace are you setting as a leader to get these jobs unstuck?

2. Collections Effort

How urgent is your approach to getting paid for the work you’ve done? Do you have a documented collection process, and is it being followed? So many times, I hear from clients who say, "Yes, we’ve got a system, but we don’t follow it."

What’s the discipline around collections? And again, what’s the pace?

3. Invoicing Discipline

What’s the process and expectation around when you’ll invoice? Do you invoice within 24 hours of completing a mitigation job? If not, why not? If you allow the pace to be "whenever we get around to it," you get one result. If you’re disciplined about it, you get a different result.

What about invoicing for reconstruction jobs? Are you progress invoicing? By percentage? By phase? When and how often are you doing it? What’s the pace?

Score Yourself as a Leader

How much urgency do you have around these three areas on a scale of 1-10? 

A ‘10’ means you have clear, documented expectations for the process and timeline, and you track the measurables on a scorecard for all to see. Your team knows where they stand in terms of their performance at all times.

A ‘1’ looks like this: There are no documented processes, there’s no accountability, and chaos is a way of life.

If you're leading a group—whether it's 10, 20, or 30 or more people—and you're moving slowly or inconsistently, how can you expect your team to keep up with the pace you want? As the leader, your team is looking to you to set the tempo. If you’re not pushing forward with urgency, they won’t either.

If you need help or even just want to talk through this, don’t hesitate. Book a call with me or send me an email at [email protected].

I’ll see you in the next video.