Most have heard the story about the Tortoise and the Hare. Writer, Eric Holtzclaw from Inc. magazine says, "consistency is the difference between failure and success."
As the story goes, the Hare leaps ahead but gets lost and distracted on the way, and the Tortoise wins.
Like Eric, I too try to be consistent with consistency. If I tell you I am going to call you or drop you a line, I will. In life and especially in business, consistency is a must if you want to grow our build your business.
Below is five reasons why you might want to be more consistent. I have taken the liberty to short-cut Eric's article, offering a few of my thoughts. Please read his entire article in Inc. magazine, June 2012.
1. Consistency allows for measurement. It is difficult to know if something is working or not until you have given the project time. How else do you measure effectiveness if what you are measuring hasn't performed consistently?
2. Consistency creates accountability. Setting goals and deliverables only work if you have accountability. Leadership is a demonstration of responsibility and without consistency how can we deliver?
3. Consistency establishes your reputation. Eric says 'business growth requires a track record of success,' true enough, But too, we know those who have earned an unfavorable reputation by not following-through, missing deadlines, being late, consistently.
4. Consistency makes you relevant. In business, 'there is a predictability to the workflow of information from you or your team". How we promote our business, gain traction and present ourselves in our marketing campaigns, we must be relevant and be consistent with the on-going changes and trends in the world.
5. Consistency maintains your message. People do pay attention to what we say and do. As a leader, people will model our actions and behaviors. If something isn't working, be sure to ask questions so that you can assess what worked and what didn't and what might need to change. "Most of the time, the reason tracks back to the lack of consistency."
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