Keystone Excellence Services

"The focus on effort as opposed to outcome is what lies at the heart of a growth mindset." - Damian Hughes.

Author Carol Dweck in her book 'Mindset', proposes that people with a growth mindset believe that they can get better at anything by dedication of time, effort and focused energy. This is a state of mind that believes in kaizen or continuous improvement and focuses on consistent effort. For them, outcomes or achievements are not destinations but mere milestones along the way.

The journey of self improvement is unending when you focus all your effort in becoming a better version of yourself. In the process of improving yourself, you will come across many achievements/outcomes but continuing to focus on effort pushes you forward towards bigger, better outcomes and more. Keep a growth mindset and you will achieve more than you can ever imagine.

We are an aggregate of what we do consistently!

As humans, it is so easy for us to define success as an event- Neeraj Chopra's Olympic Gold medal or India's World Cup wins. What we tend to miss or underestimate is the value of small efforts which are performed daily and consistently. We believe that massive success requires massive action and hence any goals that we set for ourselves can only be achieved by some earth-shattering effort. But when you ask these people their secret of success- they swear by the small, daily habits that they perform consistently that has been the reason for their glory.

Unfortunately, in an era of instant gratification, the slow pace of change that comes with consistent, daily habits makes it very difficult for us to sustain the effort. Whether it is losing weight, building a successful business or achieving any other goal, we get derailed from our path as we do not have the patience to weather the boring dullness of consistent effort.

If you agree that success depends on your consistent habits then instead of setting goals this year my suggestion would be to try a different approach. Instead of outcomes or goals; why not try to set a "consistent habit" as the goal. If you make "the effort" needed to achieve your goals as a "consistent habit", you will be surprised that you might not just achieve all your goals but surpass them year on year just because of the consistency of habit. Now that, according to me, is true success.

Let's start 2022 by putting in small yet consistent efforts everyday and make it a habit.

Let this New Year be a step forward- a step forward away from your comfort zone, a step forward towards your goals!

Happy New Year everyone. Make 2022 all about taking that 'one' step!

BUSINESS BASICS - What do Customers really want?

We believe that customers want best quality, cheapest price and great service. While these are obvious, one thing that I believe that our customers most expect from us is CONSISTENCY. Customers don't want a once in a lifetime, flash of brilliance. They prefer consistency of experience- how you price your products, how you deliver your service, how you treat them post transactions etc. Well established brands ensure that they provide consistent and predictable experience for their customers which makes them a repeat buyer. Be it established brands or smaller companies, all their customers love consistency.

Consistency can only be delivered when you run your organization on "Systems". Apart from ensuring your customers get products and services of the consistent quality and price; establishing systems and processes in your company helps you reduce wastage of time, effort, rejections and rework as well (along with the headache and stress that comes along with all these). Infact, I understand Systems to be acronym for Save Yourself Stress, Time, Energy and Money.

Unfortunately, establishing systems costs time, effort and money initially and a lot of businesses look at this as an optional expense instead of a planned investment. Hence choose to save money in the short term but end up with regular bouts of stress and heartburn in the long run. Unfortunately, they also end up curbing their own growth and progress.

For long term peace of mind for the business owner and providing consistency and predictability for the customers, the organization needs to be driven on systems and processes. There will be situations that will demand human intervention but they will be few and far between. My mantra is- Systemize the routine; humanise the exception!

So start by systemising routine tasks and slowly you can build systems and processes into most aspects of your business. I can promise you, this investment will reap huge return in the long run.