Let's be honest. As leaders how do we stay sane in an insane job? Too busy to read. Too busy to learn. Too busy on the treadmill when the speed is being set by others.

It's a challenge for every serious business leader and a requires a relentless pursuit and identification of what's important. Too often I see leaders identify the important deliverables and then concentrate on one or two whilst the house burns down around them. This is not the time for either / or thinking; this is the time for andthinking. You have to do this and this and this, etc.

I suggest picking 5 important outputs that are business changing or will enable the big goals to be achieved and make sure they are anchored firmly in the business vision or business roadmap. There is no point in you creating a wonderful piece of art, if it does not deliver the bottom line results your boss or the business demands.

Remember that nobody is going to give you time or have empathy and understanding. If you are allowed this luxury I would ask myself where the overall business is going!

Here are a few tips from watching the best being the best.

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  Leaders create a clear and fuzzy strategy. The core of the strategy is crystal clear where nothing changes and nobody is allowed to deviate. At the edges autonomy and entrepreneurship flourish. This takes discipline and trust. This takes peer, self and organisational commitment and engagement.
  
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  Leaders are people who relentlessly focus on productivity.They are always asking, "Are we stretching ourselves and are we marching to a common tune in step and with a hunger and passion for value and excellence?"
  
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  Leaders focus on customer satisfaction.Leaders never cut corners when it comes to their customers – the ones they have right now and the ones they want to do business with in the future. The customers in this instance are both internal and external. Leaders lay awake at night fretting about what the customers' perceptions of their business are and where they can enhance those perceptions. Or they fret about where they can create new markets and new customers.
  
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  Leaders always have their eye on the money. Show me the moneyis a principle that many live and operate by. If you are not making money, you are not doing it right. There is no time for people who lose money. The economic ecosystem of the business needs a razor sharp focus and an innovative mindset for doing things faster, better, smarter in a sustained and evolving manner.
  
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  Leaders focus on quality.There are no shortcuts. There is only one true state—perfection. The top leaders know this and know that they will never achieve it. However, they squeeze and sweat every ounce of energy in making this a business mission to which no excuse or blocker gets in the way of the 365/24/7 approach to zero tolerance of anything that is not high quality output.
  
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  Leaders build people. There are no followers! There is a single horizontal line with a cult–like culture, a synergised discipline, with a clear and fuzzy strategy to the creation of a winning business with a total focus on the customer and the new customer opportunity.
  
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  Leaders focus first on whothen on what. Leaders are able to balance everything. The business is built by people, is run by people and if not performing, is as a result of people. They focus 100% on the problem they are trying to fix, not on the programme or projects they are running, or the multiple committees and meetings that are pointless.
  
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  Leaders cannot hold an organisation hostage to its past. If we examine the military which is an organisation steeped in history and tradition, there is always a likelihood that it will look at past successes to predict future requirements. Past glories have often led Generals to prepare their armies to fight the previous war, not the battles of the future.
  
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  The great leaders understand the vital importance of innovation.Today innovation is critical to staying in the game at all. Focussing on innovation is required to remain competitive. Innovation is the key to maintaining your market, your customer, your job, your family's income. Leaders need to be in the game of taking innovation and making it a living, breathing part of their transformation agenda.
  

The happenings in the world economy have conveyed a clear message to  leaders of today—change must be embraced in all its forms. To successfully achieve this, a transformation culture that is enthusiastic about change must be created.  If you are not transforming your business you are dead; maybe not this year; maybe not next. However, I guarantee you it will happen soon.

All transformational businesses start with a purpose which must be represented in their vision. The transformational business vision is not a dream. It is more like imagining a field of play that has permanently shifting boundaries. The transformational business vision is not about winning today's game, but about creating the rules by which tomorrow's game will be played. The transformational business vision succeeds because it is stated in clear and concise language. The strategy is anchored in the vision.

Transformational businesses have created a ‘shared future' with two big ambitions.

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   A compelling vision and strategic intent (with super ordinate goals) and
   
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   Core values with fundamental principles which have been co-created by executives and stakeholders at every level and function of the organisation, clearly articulated, widely owned and treasured.
   

When leaders focus on these key result areas they will impact their organisation, their employees and their customers in the most positive ways possible. Leaders understand that executing around these key result activities will make a critical difference in the organisation.

Leaders also understand that knowing is not doing and that systematic, continuous, excellent, execution is required for the sustained results that are the hallmark of a 21st Century Leader.