VISUALIZING THE SLAPPEY PLEDGE: BE PRODUCTIVE [VIDEO]


I WILL BE PRODUCTIVE. I will set priorities, use measurements to track my performance, and hold myself accountable for achieving results. I will consider the opportunity cost of everything I do and add things to the Stop Doing List. I will work with a sense of urgency and get things done.
In the final 2 minutes of the 2015 Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks drove from their own 20-yard line down to the one and Jermaine Kearse made the best catch of any Super Bowl to get there.  But this fantastic 79-yard effort did not produce results.  A bad call and poor execution resulted in a loss for the Seahawks and a win for the Patriots. Check out the whole play here.

At the center of this pledge is a realization: in order for our work to be effective, it must have results. It must be productive. It can be very easy to slip into a mindset of thinking that just because I put in the hours (or effort) that my work was productive (I did something). The harsh reality is that, in many things in life, getting close doesn't count (the exceptions being grenades, horseshoes, and nuclear warheads). In some cases—especially sales—your effort is almost completely worthless if you don't bring it to close.


We must stay focused on being productive.  Know where we need to get for it to matter (the goals). Measure where we are (so you don't miss it by a yard). Use those measurements to make yourself and the team better. This will produce real value we can take to the bank—literally.

credit: Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports

When things do not pan out, we have to learn from those shortcomings and improve so that next time we can be better. Malcolm Butler (#21, laying on the ground in the photo above) didn't give up after having an amazing play made against him.  He stayed focused and went in and made an interception to win the game for the Patriots a few plays later.

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