One of the things I have learned over my career is the importance of learning agility. You can always learn something from any book you read, seminar you attend or experience you have. Even things that may not appear on the surface to be related to your business can, in fact, prove to be valuable. Take, for example, the concept of “Highest and Best Use.” Typically used in real estate, this concept offers business owners and CEOs a great perspective.
Highest and Best Use is a term the real estate industry uses when discussing how an owner uses their land. The Highest and Best Use is the optimal use based on factors such as location, zoning laws, and finances. For example, using several acres of rural land in Oregon for a winery is a much better use than turning the land into a massive office building complex. So how can this be applied to your business? Well, it comes down the question of time.
The most valuable and scarce business resource we have today is time. Ask any leader or CEO and they will tell you there are never enough hours in the day. This is where the concept of “Highest and Best Use” comes into play. Executives need to ask themselves what are the best uses of their time and what can be delegated to their team. Don’t have a team in place? Get one. Quite frankly, you cannot get where you need to go if you are wearing all the hats. You MUST leverage, you MUST have a team. It is quite literally the only way. If you want to grow, you bring a team. You never go it alone. And when you hit your goals, you leverage again. That is the way it works.
Another way Highest and Best Use can be used is in determining how each member of your team can best impact growth. As a leader, you need to understand the best way to leverage the strengths of each person. The best companies recognize the powerful impact of a team where each individual is happily put to his or her Highest and Best Use for the company, and where he or she understands exactly why. Start with YOU. Are you best at product development or sales? Find a way to impact the areas where you bring the greatest value, even if you are the CEO. And groom others to fill the gaps where value is currently left on the table.
Of course, letting go of even the smallest tasks can be a challenge for some, especially if you have built your business from the ground up. It is very tempting to try and “do it all” but, this is a huge mistake. If you believe you can do it all, you have already lost. The CEOs and business leaders who get it, GROW. They win. They dominate.
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