The magic pill, the silver bullet, the guru, the two week diet, the inspirational speaker.  All provide false hope that we can improve ourselves through the flick of a switch.  Just like a light bulb, they will turn us on and have us performing in an instance.

Personal and organisational improvement is about evolution.  As Robin Sharma really highlights, small daily improvements each day lead to staggering results over time.  It is very much similar to the compound effect with money, in that you apply small consistent regular deposits and watch what it grows in to.  An enormous end result that sets you up financially.

So why do we struggle with this principle personally and within organisations when we look at improvement?  These small seemingly insignificant efforts are hard to do on a regular basis.

From an organisational perspective, regular training on our systems, entering key information into systems, following up on our client actions and spending time with our key staff and clients all require discipline and commitment.

From a personal perspective, being disciplined and focused with our time, journaling daily, putting our family and health first, planning weekly where our effort will be put and having the self control with our diet and exercise are hard to repeat regularly.

As Seth Godin recently put in one of his blogs, having one coke won’t matter but one hundred will make you fat.  The reverse is also true in that one disciplined act won’t make a difference but this repeated over time leads to staggering results for any individual or organisation.

Get good at your daily habits, processes, practices and acts and watch the rest follow.  It not only is good for business, it really allows you to reflect and understand that evolution is the only sensible way to make the changes you are looking to achieve.  You may just transform yourself in the process!

To find out more, visit our Business Improvement page.