“Incidents of the past – a lost love, a missed opportunity – shape us
and make us what we are.” – Rana Daggubati
Consistently creating opportunities for amazing tomorrows, personally and professionally, is a rare talent. Most leaders appear to comprehend this relatively basic concept, but lack the Decision Making Quality (DMQ) and Execution-Excellence (Ex-Ex) to consistently incorporate these rare qualities into their priorities and lives. Thus; the bountiful harvest of a purpose-driven life, enriched with opportunities beyond the reach of most people, is potentially forfeited.
The “gift of oblivion” can be a beautiful, albeit, a deceptive asset. By only seeing the opportunities resulting from our actual decisions, we are oblivious to “what could have been”. Thus; “what could have been” is sadly, not even on the radar and obliviously isn’t even missed.
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We’ll look at three of the underlying components that collaborate to create our overall DMQ and are components aligned with creating the brightest opportunities for our tomorrows. Please keep in mind, these are not 100% foolproof. However, I believe they are critical in determining the probability of our success.
1. DMQ-Vision of Future-Self (DMQ-VoFS)
2. DMQ-Self-Sabotage (DMQ-SS)
3. DMQ-Courage
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1. DMQ-Vision of Future-Self (DMQ-VoFS) – I believe the strength-index of this competency, is the most critical determinant of our future success. Leaders who lack clarity of vision, typically make choices that work today, or even a few years into the future. However, their lack of vision-clarity when making decisions with long time horizons, typically leads to less than stellar outcomes.
We see this in business, marriages, etc. For example, multiple research studies conclude that second marriages are more likely to end in divorce than first marriages. I believe this is primarily due to the DMQ Circular Loop Syndrome. People can change partners, believe they’re making better decisions, but they haven’t exchanged nor objectively elevated their DMQ.
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2. DMQ-Self-Sabotage (DMQ-SS) – This is a fascinating competency. Typically, leaders and people are rated on a scale of 0.0 to 10.0 (with 10.0 equal to the theoretical “Perfect”). With DMQ-SS, the rating is from 0.0 to -10.0. The basic formula for this DMQ-SS is equal to (DMQ-VoFS – 10.0). Thus; the stronger your DMQ-VoFS, the less likely you are to self-sabotage. Example: DMQ-VoFS = 6.0. Thus; DMQ-SS = (6.0 – 10.0) = -4.0
I observe this competency playing out routinely, both professionally and personally. There are many reasons why people utilize DMQ-SS; including denial, fear, good enough, stress, busy, etc. The best decision makers see their future-self with crystal clarity. This gives them the strength to make the best decisions today, in order to enable amazing possibilities in their futures.
3. DMQ Courage – This competency is straightforward. It takes courage to make the best decisions. Most leaders intend to live an okay, good or great life. Top-7%’ers are looking beyond great! They’re staring hard into the eyes of possibilities for an amazing future-self. They know they must re-write the “scripts” generally used by average leaders and accepted by most people in order to achieve new possibilities. Thus; they’ll get a lot of pushback from a wide range of people, including their inner circles. Top-7%’er courageously tailor today’s decisions to mesh with what is needed to create amazing possibilities for their future-selves.
I believe, if you are genuinely and truly committed to leading an amazing life, optimizing your DMQ (and its underlying framework competencies) will make all the difference in your life! Nail your priorities and go for amazing!
Who changes the world? I believe it’s almost exclusively the Top-7%. They are the only ones with the Talent Portfolios and social consciences needed to actually implement significant positive social impact.
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If you believe you’re one of these executives, we’d love to explore possible opportunities.
Get Making A Difference! ~ JR
