Success comes from focusing on the elements that make the biggest difference to winning. With so many things to get right, it’s easy to get lost in the woods looking for the trees. Success comes from correctly analysing all the factors in play and deciding which ones to focus your time and effort on. Is your organisation fully prepared for the competition it’s facing? Is your organisation Win Ready?
It’s usually a mistake to focus your people, resources and skills on every task equally. It’s probably also an error to miss a task out completely. So how do you prioritise? Organisations have to start by assessing all the elements and factors within their competition. Then they need to strip out the fixed and unchangeable elements (the uncontrollables). Once that’s done, they need to focus on the remaining elements (the controllables) and decide which ones make the biggest difference to success (the winning controllables). The most challenging part is making the judgement calls about which controllables will help most with winning.
It’s going to rain
Here’s a simple example to illustrate the winning controllables principle. We have variable weather in the UK (an uncontrollable). Sometimes it rains (another uncontrollable). To avoid getting wet we need to take some action. We could do many different things (the controllables). But which ones work the most effectively and efficiently (the winning controllables)? Permanently staying indoors is an option (but it’s not a winning one). Checking the weather in advance, with a reputable source, will reduce the chances of you getting caught out (a winning controllable). Combining that with taking a waterproof coat and umbrella with you whenever you’re out offers a practical solution (the winning controllables).
Once you know what will help you the most, you need to master those winning controllables through excellent strategy, budgeting, resource deployment and training.
“Too many teams waste time focusing on the uncontrollables. Instead they need to change, nudge and influence the winning controllables, until they’ve mastered them. That’s how winning is done.“
Simon James Rhodes
The Common Controllables
There are a number of common controllables which can really help with winning. They’re set out below. This isn’t an exclusive list by any means. Every form of competition has its own winning controllables. What are yours? Finding and mastering yours will make a massive difference to the success of your organisation.
