The second quarter is almost here and your year-to-date results speak for themselves.
The big difference now is that you have less time to hit your sales quota and close any performance gaps.
If you are currently below target goals, and you need to step up your performance, then getting ready to meet and surpass your goals in the second quarter is an opportunity you cannot afford to miss.
Here is a seven-point checklist that Gary Ryan Blair recommends for great performance in Q2.
Step #1 Assess Your Performance
Do an After Action Review (AAR).
This process involves an honest review of what you did well, what you did poorly and then determining changes you need to make for Quarter 2.
Use the After Action Review process here to assess your performance and set yourself up for a high-performing second quarter.
Step #2 Get Serious
The second quarter is about to arrive and with a finite period of time, you must get serious, set crystal clear goals, and step up your game. Successful people, at some point in their life, have “looked in the mirror” and decided that they were done living far below their potential.
The moment you decide to get serious, raise your standards, and commit to meeting your Q2 goals is the moment everything shifts in your life.
Why? Commitment always precedes action. You will make rapid advances towards your goals ONLY after you decide to get serious and do everything in your power to make this your best year ever.
Step #3 Refuse to Give up
Comebacks, Redemption and Second Acts are common in our culture. The salesperson or entrepreneur who turns a poor performing first quarter into one of redemption and prosperity; the celebrity or athlete who falls from grace and somehow finds a way to bounce back bigger and better than ever.
Those with champion qualities do what it takes to not allow the indignity of a poor first-quarter performance keep them down. Every great achievement and comeback in history has been the result of the choices, the determinations…and the persistence of the human will.
A comeback success requires acknowledging that one’s back is against the wall. And then accepting the mistakes of past performance, analyzing both opportunities and obstacles, strengthening one’s resolve, and getting back up to move forward.
When you are down or below target, even after just one quarter, some people will write you off. Do not let them define you. Maintain your dignity. Commit to the goal of reaching your second-quarter goals, and refuse to give up.
Step #4 Start Saying No
Consisting of two letters and one syllable, the word “No” is the most powerful word in your vocabulary. And it is a complete sentence.
It’s the easiest word for setting any kind of limit, holding firm to boundaries, and being crystal clear about what you will or will not do during the second quarter.
You will be infinitely more productive once you recognize these three things:
- “No” is not a dirty word, a negative word, nor is it a selfish word. Learning to say “No” is liberating because it frees your time to focus on your key priorities.
- You are in complete control of how you spend your time and your life. Saying “No” allows you more time and energy to pursue your most important goals.
- Saying, “No,” actually increases the value of the things you can, “Yes” to.
Saying “No” is one of the most empowering decisions you can make for the simple reason that it simplifies your life, focuses your attention and accelerates your overall effectiveness.
Step #5 Do Things Differently or Do Different Things
A strong 2nd quarter is dependent upon extraordinary execution skills. The better you execute, the better you perform, and the stronger you finish.
Expecting to get better results from the same old behavior will only succeed in perpetuating pain and poor performance. It will NOT get you to a superior level of performance.
Reaching your second-quarter goals requires new and better execution skills. In short, things need to change, and when faced with a need for change — YOU ONLY HAVE TWO OPTIONS…you can either do things differently, or you can do different things.
This is a subtle but important distinction. And if you have any chance of closing your execution gaps and making this your best year ever, you MUST ask yourself…
“Do I need to do things differently, or should I focus on doing different things?”
Getting the correct answer — quickly — will be a key to unlocking a successful, abundant and record-setting second quarter.
Step #6 Speed Things Up
The old rules no longer apply. It’s not the big who eats the small; it’s the fast who eats the slow.
SPEED is a massive and sustainable advantage that you must utilize. Speed is a demonstration of commitment, competence and clarity of purpose.
You will achieve true greatness and reach or supersede your second quarter goals…only after you possess a sense of urgency that pervades what you are doing. We’re talking about an urgency that spurs superior performance and views achieving your Q2 goals and personal mission as a matter of life or death.
Perhaps the most compelling reason of all for taking substantial action each day and using speed as an advantage is this: Time is finite.
None of us are getting any younger. The sooner you realize the value of speed, the more serious you take your goals, and the greater urgency you build into your daily habits.
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Step #7 Be Relentless
Your success in reaching your second quarter (Q2) goals and making this your best year ever is linked to your heart…your will…your steadfast commitment to your goals.
Victory belongs neither to the faint-hearted nor to the weak-willed or the uncommitted.
A high-performing second quarter will require you to persist with undying, relentless determination. Being relentless means that you have the type of spirit incapable of being overcome, subdued, or vanquished.
If you passionately believe that you are up to the challenge and committed to making the most of the second quarter, then understand this: It is your right and responsibility to cultivate an unbeatable mindset and impose your will over any resistance force.
The rewards for those who are unyielding in their pursuit of an abundant and prosperous second quarter (Q2) will far exceed the pain that must precede the victory.
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Depending on when you’re reading this, the 2nd quarter is almost here, or it’s just beginning. Upgrading your execution skills could be one of the smartest decisions you can make.
If you’re like me and not satisfied with your performance, that's evidence you need a better system for producing better results.
If you’re seriously looking for a better system, then check out The 100 Day Challenge. It’s an online, high-performance rapid execution system designed to help you reach or exceed your 2nd quarter goals and improve your life and career in 100 days.
This extreme challenge is meant for serious people who want serious results — fast. If you’re okay with average, this program is not for you.
I’m using the system, and I invite you to join me in this 100 Day Challenge
Resources
100 Day Challenge
After Action Review (AAR)
Disclosure
Some of my blog posts contain links to products. These are products I use personally or come highly recommended from sources I trust. I would recommend them to my own family. At no extra cost to you, the product creator gives my nonprofit organization a small commission if you click one of these links on my blog and purchase something. This is a win-win-win situation where I get to recommend great products to my readers who benefit tremendously from these products when they buy. My organization receives a small compensation to support our mission and the business gains a new customer. And you pay the same exact price you would pay if you had found the product yourself!