Have you ever heard the figurative business suggestions to “sharpen your axe” or “polish your tools?” Me too. Well now, I’m gonna suggest, you also wield your saber. Or, S.A.B.E.R.!
A saber is a slightly curved blade that’s sharp on one edge. It’s a powerful tool. And so is this S.A.B.E.R, which will help you achieve a new edge of excellence!
SABER stands for:
S skills +
A attitude +
B behavior +
E xecution with excellence =
R results
SKILLS:
Do you have the skills you need, to attain the results you desire? If your answer is “no” then whatta ya gonna do about it?
Consider:
- What are the skills you’d like to improve? (Make a list.)
- How will you upgrade these skills? (i.e., will you read a book, listen to a CD, watch a DVD, enroll in a seminar or online course, or hire a coach or an advisor)
- When will you start this new road to results? (Commit to a date. Define a deliverable. Take the first step.)
ATTITUDE:
Is attitude everything? Nope. For without action, it’s merely positive fantasy. Yet attitude matters. Lots! And here’s the good news. When it comes to attitude, you’re the ONE in control. Total control. Positive or negative, it’s your decision.
A few years ago, I heard another hotel guest in Battle Creek, Michigan mumble beneath his breath, “It’s one of those days!” Heck, it was only 10:00 a.m.! Yet he was already convinced he could place this Monday on the losing side of his “daily scorecard.”
So what might influence your attitude? Do you see:
- Challenge or opportunity?
- Problem or inconvenience?
- Dilemma or lesson?
- Breakdown or breakthrough?
- Mistake or asset?
- Failure or fortune?
It’s a choice. And the choice is yours!
A sign in a University of Washington oceanography class proclaims: “Man is 97% water, the rest is all attitude.”
BEHAVIOR:
Plain and simple, it’s what you do. Not what you promise. Not what you claim. Not what you boast. Not what you intend. But what you DO.
And all too often, folks ain’t doing the right things! They engage in, what our youngest daughter Amanda, (who at the age of nine), began referring to… “inappropriate behavior.” (I know, the wisdom of a sage at a tender age!)
Psychologists even have a fancy term for helping folks who engage in counterproductive conduct: “behavior modification”
With behavior mod, psychologists attempt to positively influence one’s behavior, by rewarding new and desirable activities or performance. And making the undesirable behaviors, less attractive.
Whoa. Simple stuff. Good stuff. When it works. Yet often, it doesn’t. How come? Because it only works, when you work. With many, when all is said and done, more is usually said than done.
Don’t be a “sayer.” Be a DOER!
EXECUTE WITH EXCELLENCE:
To execute with excellence, it’s about attention to detail. Doing the right thing. The passion and commitment to deliver at peak levels of performance. Not once. Repeatedly.
It’s about turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. It’s about the spirit, the will, the desire, the act to excel. To win.
It’s realizing while speed is appreciated, execution with excellence is remembered. Yet to pursue excellence and the right actions, it takes guts. For you’ll always be testing your limits. As Paul Harvey once said, “You can outdo you, if you really want to.”
RESULTS:
That’s the name of the game. Like it or not, we keep track. In points. In goals. In grades. In ratings. In dollars. In sales. The simple question, “How’d you do?” is all about results. And results is all about outcomes. Consequences. The tally. The score.
Did you win or lose? Advance or retreat?
Yet what influences or determines the results, are your skills, attitude, behaviors and execution with excellence.
As Dr. Phil McGraw, Ph.D., a.k.a. Dr. Phil, once said, “At the end of the game, it’s about results. Life is a full-contact sport and there’s a score up on the board.”
S + A + B + E = R! A simple formula.
S.A.B.E.R., a simple tool. Yet perhaps, an even more dynamic “weapon for winning.”
Will you wield this S.A.B.E.R.?
The choice is yours!
