Are Breakthroughs a Matter of Luck? Part II

To distinguish the method for creating breakthroughs on purpose, it will be important to look at the pieces of the puzzle.  However, first let’s understand why it is called disruptive.

Most breakthroughs are initially destructive or counter-intuitive to the normal functioning of the organization.  It requires people to think and do things differently.  Perhaps that is the reason most companies avoid breakthroughs.  Disruptions are problems if you are not skilled at managing yourself and others.  It is the reason they are not a matter of luck.  Without structures to support breakthroughs, they just look like problems.  And most people just want to get rid of problems.  Therefore, there is a certain mindset needed to effectively manage breakthroughs. 

Throughout my 20 years as an international traveler, C-Level executive, sales trainer, trusted advisor to C-Level executives, and record-breaking performance as an athlete, I have distinguished patterns in my performance as well as the extraordinary performance of others.

Although the whole is greater than the parts, if you remove a part, the value will be diminished. 

Responsibility is the ability to identify one’s contribution to an outcome, whether a success or failure. Realize that you individually have a purpose in achieving the outcome.  And what you do or don’t do can impact final results.  This includes what you say and don’t say.      

Accountability is taking ownership.  It is the segment of the project one will own. Whether you are overseeing operations or contributing to them.

Integrity is when your actions reflect or are correlated with what you say.  If you say you will do something, do it when you said and the way you said.  If there is a reason you can no longer fulfill the task on time, communicate that to the appropriate parties immediately.  High integrity dissolves mysteries in projects.  Oftentimes, people expect you to just know what and when they will accomplish a task.  High integrity requires you to say what and when you will do something and then keep your word. 

Without this base, a corporation will eventually collapse. It’s the foundation that will keep you focused on achieving your goal even when the direction of your current seems uncertain or off course. 

Commitment is who you become. For example, you can be a commitment to innovate disruptive technology that is more valuable than existing products or services. Or you can be a commitment to double production without adding resources. A commitment is an intention to create something.  It is an intention to accomplish a possibility beyond what has already been achieved.  A commitment is not a task or something to do.  Extraordinary commitments require one to become the commitment, instead checking off a to-do list.

Stand is the end game or reason your business exists. This will be your mantra. You find leadership’s stand having a huge impact on the culture of an organization, department or team.  It becomes the value system of the enterprise.  It is the platform from which all stakeholders stand next to and partner with leadership.  It is the life-blood of the company.  It keeps everyone together in the face of success or failure.  An example is the Founding Fathers of the US taking a stand for liberty and freedom.

Declaration is the willingness to speak the future into existence.  Instead of reacting to circumstances, you create circumstances for which the competition has to respond.  In essence, you invent the future, instead of having the best reaction to the future.  It is a way of manifesting a new reality, even though there is no blue print for it.  It requires putting a lot at stake.  The Founding Fathers put their fate on the line to declare independence from Great Britain. 

Without a stand or declaration, it’s just talk.  When you say what the future will be, instead of hoping, and your actions are correlated to the declaration, you stand a chance of making the impossible possible.

Click here to see part 3.

What do you think? I welcome your comments below.