I know I talk about Warren Buffett a lot and, he is a man to admire who has built his income steadily over many years.
He certainly knows the power of leveraging compound interest, and how the compounding phenomenon can work in our lives; in today’s post, I want to explore this topic more.
The compound effect is an incredibly effective strategy for anyone who wants to improve their performance, and yet its simplicity and ease of implementation is ignored by many.
I was first introduced to the concept by Darren Hardy, the well-known author and owner of Success Magazine. He is quite a legend and, in his twenties, started to implement the compound effect in his own life.
Let’s clarify what it is: The compound effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, intelligent actions.
The fantastic thing about this process is that even though the eventual gains are massive, the small actions in the moment aren’t hard to take — minor business tweaks which are almost imperceptible and yet cause massive gains.
Darren Hardy used this compound effect approach: He got rid of the clutter and focused on core fundamentals that matter; the ones which you can immediately implement in your life to produce measurable and sustainable results.
The truth is that our decisions shape our destiny. Those small everyday decisions take us to the life we want or create the life we want to run away from!
The future is what you make it…
The extra calls you make, that additional marketing campaign, the extra networking meeting and conversely; the extra hour in bed, the extra procrastination on hiring a new Biller; all have an impact, some good, some not so good.
Here is the scary thing; stray off course by a few centimetres and your trajectory changes; sometimes drastically in all areas of our work and personal life.
What seemed like an inconsequential decision creates a significant miscalculation.
From what niche to work in, to where in the country, to the people you hang out with, changes how you live today and critically how you live the rest of your life.
It’s a concept I talk about in more depth in our latest video training you can watch here.
How Choice Impacts Your Results
We are exceptionally lucky as human beings today to have so much choice. However, our choices can be our best friend or worst enemy.
Here are a couple of things to consider about choice.
1. Every thing starts through choosing something.
The pain of it all is that many of our choices are unconscious, made on autopilot or because of something we unwittingly picked up as a child which has been ‘screwing’ us over for years! Also, other choices are knee jerk with little thought or analysis.
2. Deciding not to choose is also a choice
Ignoring the decision–making process, which you have access to, can mean you end up sitting on the fence; which eventually becomes uncomfortable!
Because by doing this, you are choosing to be a passive observer, perhaps even an unconscious victim of life who laments that ‘things just’ seem to happen to him or her.
Therefore, it’s key to make choices that expand your life.
It’s common that Katy and I work with Recruitment Business Owners who come to us and say they are, ‘stuck’ or are in a situation which is causing them anxiety to the point where they think they might break, or decide to close up shop entirely and get a job.
As we question and unpick what’s happened, we usually identify a series of small decisions which haven’t been considered or thought through; which are now making a negative impact on their results.
Here is something we commonly see.
Our clients have been going about their business; everything seems ok when they suddenly make a series of small misaligned choices which sabotage the hard work and momentum.
They didn’t intend it to happen; they just didn’t think it through. Saying yes to a contract at a lower fee (only this once of course!), not tackling a performance issue or compromising on KPIs.
We have all heard about the enormous mistakes which almost ruin someone’s career. This isn’t what we are alluding too.
Here we are talking about small concessions or poor decisions.
Whether these are daft decisions or are disguised as positive choices (especially hurtful and unconscious), on the surface, they appear insignificant. They can, however, completely throw you off course because they are small you aren’t as mindful about what is happening and the impact these little actions are making.
Something to remember, a bit like gravity, the compound effect is ALWAYS working, however in our focus here; against you.
The Good News
So, if the compound effect is always working, what might happen if we flip it? What if we put a halt to these ‘off beam’ actions and started making small tweaks to what we do?
What if that weekly catch up you started with the team that stopped start happening again?
What about ringing clients to check in every week was monitored and measured again? …….. and the list goes on….
With our many students on the Rockit programme, this is exactly where we start, and it makes a huge difference for them.
Are you ready to start using the compound effect in a way which supports rather than sabotages you?
Warm regards
Nicky and Katy
P.S. If you are wondering how the compound effect is impacting your results, let’s talk. You can apply for a call with either Katy or myself by filling out this short form here.
