Keeping It Real: How To Master The Art Of Execution

On this edition of “Keeping It Real,” a recurring podcast series on Inman, Peter Lorimer goes through the vital steps of following through.

On this edition of “Keeping It Real,” a recurring podcast series on Inman, Peter Lorimer goes through the vital steps of following through.

Great ideas have remained fallow due to the fact that they were not acted upon. How many ideas lie in the wasteland of procrastination and fear?A lot.

Thoughts without actions are dead, and I for one am not interested in dead thoughts. That’s why, over the years, I’ve created a system for execution that is simple and straight-forward. It’s served me well, and I’d like to share it with you.

Remove all opinions — that’s Step 1. When you sit down to prospect, remove your opinions of the prospective clients, and treat everyone the same.

It might seem basic, but allowing yourself to toss away the natural instinct of wondering how big of a sale you might get from someone allows you to serve people more fully.

Because, in the end, you should never look at what you make off of one deal as a paycheck. Instead, look at what you make in a year as your salary.

Here’s Step 2: Blindly stay in action. Make a list in the morning (or better yet, the night before), and don’t think about the items on the list. Take your big goals, and break them down into small actionable items.

Then, start checking them off.

Step 3 includes another thing you should remove — expectations. They need to go. This will allow you to serve your clients better. And it’ll keep you in motion, which is the name of the game.

Show up. That’s Step 4. Show up and suit up — on time. An old friend of mine gave me some advice that really stuck with me. “Chief,” he said, “90 percent of it is showing up.”

Showing up on time and ready. Be when and where you promised to be. If you do this consistently, the jobs will come. Trust me.

Don’t focus on winning or be afraid of losing (that’s Step 5). Focus on not quitting. Stay the course, and be the best at never stopping. No matter how many times you find yourself hitting a brick wall.

And finally, stop looking for outside validation. You’ll probably never get it when you really need it. Look inward for that validation and encouragement.

Summed up: