Keep Score

I enjoy golf and find great pleasure competing with friends and business associates. Often times when playing in a tournament, a member-guest competition, or maybe just an outing, I find myself wondering where I stand against the field?

Am I and my partner leading? Hopelessly out of it? Would a couple of birdies coming down the homestretch get us on the leader board?

The reality is: I don't know what the score is, and have absolutely no idea if I'm winning, losing or tied until the end of the game and all the scores are tallied. At that point it's too late to do anything about it!

But all that has changed due to a new gizmo called BlueGolf.

BlueGolf is a handheld computer with specialized software and wireless technology that enables myself and all competing golfers to beam their scores to a computer that displays a real- time leader board on the device right there in my hand, on TV screens, or computer monitors back at the clubhouse, even on the Internet for anyone following the action from afar.

My new reality is that I now know the score at all times and am able to determine my position on the leader board. Knowing the score allows me to adjust my strategy and make the necessary changes needed to WIN!

So what does some gizmo named BlueGolf have to do with me?

The answer: A LOT!

When it comes to the goals you set, and all the work and good intentions that went into building your plan for success, the fact is that you are RIGHT NOW - at this very instant - in one of three positions.

WINNING - Ahead of your predetermined goals

LOSING - Behind your predetermined goals

TIED - On target with your predetermined goals

Intentions are important however they are no replacement for good old fashioned results.

Change knocks the wind out of all good plans and best intentions. As a result, unless your performance is reviewed regularly, your growth becomes stunted. We get what we inspect, not just what we expect. Knowing the score as often as possible increases productivity!

Keeping score and inspecting your expectations actually expands time by helping you to maintain focus. If you do not use time properly through regular inspections, you burn it through neglect.

Just as DNA's coding is built into every cell of your body, the combination for achieving any goal requires the inspection of expectations. In short, to maintain a winning edge, you must keep your eye on the scoreboard.

Inspection has a dual purpose: First, inspection tells you where you are in relation to where you want to be. Second, it tells you how you are doing in the process of pursuing your goals.

You must evaluate whether the actions you are taking are going to produce the results you desire. It is important to perpetuate and amplify those actions that produce desired results.

When you know for certain that you are on the wrong road, you change course. But if you are driving along ignoring landmarks and road signs, you may continue on the wrong road for a long time without knowing you are lost. You will make progress only if you take time to inspect and learn from your experience.

The purpose of measuring performance and inspecting expectations is to improve performance. You must know how you are performing the "must do" actions necessary to achieve your goals.

Inspecting expectations allows you to know what you are looking for before you actually see it!

The best time to establish expectations is when you establish your overall plan. That way you can evaluate the tasks before you act, prepare yourself mentally, and set a pace. Start off knowing the rules, and how you must be play to succeed. Inspections reinforce predetermined standards.

An inspection process will make you aware of performance gaps. It is this "white space" that you must manage to achieve the results you desire.

Look at this as a personal performance audit or balance sheet that quickly informs you of your assets and liabilities. You will undoubtedly see and feel changes in your life; they will be distinct and noticeable when you are well aware of the score.

The reality is, if you're not keeping score, you're probably getting beat!

If how you play or perform were all that mattered, then why do all sporting activities have some form of scoreboard? The scoreboard is your report card and it tells you and the world that you are winning, losing, or holding your ground.

Keeping score and inspecting your progress is important, not only in determining the ultimate winner of a contest, but also as a measuring device by which a person, team or company can gauge itself against the competition.

Ask yourself this question and others of similar nature, "How am I doing relative to the goals I set just a few short weeks ago?

Stop for just a moment, inspect your progress, make changes and adjustments if necessary and then re-launch better prepared for success. What's the point of setting a goal if you have no intention of achieving it?

Make sure you know the score and victory will always be within your grasp!