Sustained double-digit growth does not come easy, and you might think that staying the course month after month for nearly a decade could be exhausting. But it hasn’t been. Our company has experienced an average annual revenue growth rate of 36 percent over the past decade. I often get asked, “How do you stay energized and focused for an extended period of time?”
There could be a tendency to get complacent and lose momentum. For me, staying motivated has come pretty easy. What could be more fun than running a successful, high-growth business in the community I want to live in and working with people I enjoy? Organizations tend to take on the personality of their leader. And I believe that my enthusiastic style and “let’s go to work” attitude is contagious and helps us get the job done.
So, how do I stay energized and engaged?
- Having a performance-driven attitude toward life and work.
I like to work, but I’m not a workaholic. I believe in work-life balance and my calendar and priorities reflect that. I do wake up every morning looking forward to a productive day – both professionally and personally.
- Committing to not being complacent.
As the saying goes, if you do what you have always done, you’ll get what you always got. That sounds boring to me. I have challenged myself and our company to try new things to drive growth. This has included acquisitions, expanding our geography and developing new business units. Make a commitment to yourself and your organization to initiate something new.
- Participating in successful career paths.
I love watching our employees engage in the company to achieve mutual success. One of my favorite things to do is participate in the development of our emerging leaders. It’s so rewarding when employees who begin their career at Marco become high-performing business people. Many are recognized for being standouts in our industry. I share their enthusiasm and am confident we’re building a culture that people want to be a part of.
- Appreciating the sale.
I am sales-driven and still enjoy being engaged in our sales process. It’s not uncommon for me to be involved in some sales activity every day. I am energized by our goal to be the biggest and the best in our industry. And I’m confident we’ll realize that goal near term because of the people on our team and the valuable work we’re doing for our clients.
- Keeping score.
We’re committed to sustained growth at Marco – anything less really isn’t an option. So, we set high targets and we keep score to stay focused on execution. We consistently review results, benchmarks and rankings and consistently share them company-wide. From administration and accounting to sales and service, we have established a series of metrics in order to achieve our corporate initiatives. Record keepers are record breakers.
So why do some leaders have a hard time staying motivated? I think it’s because they can get complacent. If we’re just doing the same thing day after day, it’s time for us to look for new opportunities to inspire motivation. Leaders who keep their saws sharp, display a performance-driven attitude and keep score will be more motivated to achieve their objectives.
