Do you have what it takes to reach the top?

The world is moving at a faster rate than ever before…

We are able to communicate, travel, and access information more quickly than in previous times.

We are also able to access more resources and opportunities than ever before. 

The world is changing rapidly, and as business leaders, it’s important for us to keep up with the pace of change.

This relates directly to a very insightful concept in Siimon Reynolds’ book “Win Fast: Quick Ways to Achieve More, Earn More and Be More.”  

What if there was a singular character trait that indicates which CEOs will become the most successful?

I think that’s something that would interest just about anyone in a business leadership position.

Enter Professor John Kotter of Harvard Business School, one of the top management researchers worldwide, who conducted a study on exactly this concept.

He and his research team studied the top echelon of CEOs in the US, using their organisation’s rise in share-price over 10 years to gauge success.

This, along with interviews of all of the CEOs and those working close to them, revealed an amazing finding.  

There was indeed a special character trait that differentiated the business greats from the rest of the crowd.

Moreover, if a CEO did not possess this trait, it’s highly unlikely that they would be seeing any kind of success in their time.

The key to success is what Kotter called “a sense of urgency.”

To sum it up, those at the top do 3 things quickly.

Review. Decide. Act.

Basically, these powerhouses know how to cut through the red tape and inaction of their organisation to get stuff done.

They move at the pace of a lion and demand speedy progress. 

They have only one speed: fast. And their fast is much speedier than the average worker.

They also demand quickness from the people they work with and their suppliers, accepting no excuses for delays or inaction.

Basically, they know how to crack the proverbial whip.

“It’s not the big that eat the small; it’s the fast that eat the slow.”
– Jason Jennings, top Business & Leadership author

Make insistence on speed a top priority within your company culture.

If this is important to you, and you are living it, others will likely follow in your footsteps.

Now look, we know that not every decision is going to involve urgency, and some decisions should involve time and consideration.

However, these types of decisions are far and few between.

Most of the time, be quick and decisive for better results. 

“Move fast and break things.” was a famous mantra by Mark Zuckerberg, who now goes by “Move fast with stable infrastructure.” Both speak to the importance of expediency. 

Here’s some tips on creating a culture of speed within your organisation:

• Make urgency your top priority for a period of time (say, one week) and see the results.
• Cut time spent on tasks that don’t involve getting things done: tasks, emails, meetings, etc.
• Let those who work with you and for you know that they need to pick up the pace.