The Starting Point: Creating Clarity and Energy Around NLR Goals
The foundation of NLRS is defining clear, energizing Next Level Results Goals—results that are substantially beyond past achievements.
For some, this clarity comes quickly. Others need reflection. Either way, this step is non-negotiable—without one to three compelling NLR Goals, achieving top 2% performance and fulfillment is nearly impossible
Design and Implementation: Committing to A+ in What We Control
Once NLR Goals are set, the next step is A+ standards design and implementation—a one-time design process followed by systematic, high-energy daily implementation.
Real-World Example: A Global Technology Division’s Sales Transformation
A multinational division of a Global 1000 technology company provided software development services. While they had grown rapidly, a new President saw an opportunity for even greater expansion through large account growth and new customer acquisition.
Phase 1: Defining Next Level Results Goals
We worked with the Executive Leadership Team to define their NLR Goals. They had already compelling goals, but we helped ensure there was exceptional team energy and follow-through determination around these—committing to winning before knowing all the details of how to win is a key top 2% trait.
Phase 2: Designing A+ Standards
We then designed A+ standards in three key areas:
1.
A+ Next Level Vision
We helped the organization stand out like lions, designing their differentiated vision:
- Defined a bold value proposition (who they are), purpose (why they’re here), goals (what they’re committed to achieving), and key priorities (how they’ll do it).
- Established a weekly meeting cadence—Win the Week—to systematically assess how they did the previous week, ensure they’re on track toward their key goals, and identify key priorities for the upcoming week.
- Developed extraordinary organizational energy around the next level vision—research shows that team emotion is a key differentiator and success driver.
2.
A+ Win the Block Standards
We instilled Navy SEAL grit to win each block—a key activity you control—setting A+ standards to drive results:
- Identified key activity blocks that drive NLRs (e.g., targeting, meeting generation, customer meetings, proposals, follow-ups).
- Established clear A+ standards for each—leveraging analytics, top performer insights, and external best practices.
- Ensured commitment to follow through and enjoyment of the process—the studies showed that joy brings not only more fulfillment but also leads to substantially elevated performance.
3.
A+ Self- and Team Growth Standards
We sparked champion-level obsession with self- and team growth:
- Built a culture in which everyone at all levels was committed to self-growth—the research pointed to obsession for continuous growth as a common trait of the top 2%.
- Optimized leadership actions relating to hiring, incentives, coaching, and performance management, building a continuously improving team of champions.
These three A+ design steps, by creating specificity around key controllable standards that drive results, positioned the organization to achieve outcomes far beyond what they had previously attained.
Phase 3: Implementing A+ Standards
After designing the A+ standards, we launched a 13-Week Sprint to embed them into daily habits:
1.
A+ Next Level Vision
We built process and meeting cadences that enabled systematic updating and implementation of the vision:
- Ensured leaders at every level identified and acted on their who, why, what, and how decisions, focusing especially on setting key weekly priorities aligned with their NLRs.
- Elevated the quality of Win the Week 1-on-1 and team meetings by focusing on three key questions: What happened? Are we on track? What’s next?
2.
A+ Win the Block
We created measurement and supporting tools to track A+ standards execution:
- Systematically implemented the standards relating to relationship-building and sales advances with existing and new customers.
- Introduced new scorecards tracking standards—not just results—shining a light on these standards led to immediate improvements in them.
3.
A+ Self- and Team Growth
We set up meeting and learning processes to enable the systematic execution of the A+ self- and team growth standards:
- Supported A+ self-leadership and continuous improvement.
- Implemented A+ hiring, incentive compensation, coaching, and performance management standards.
Leaders not only elevated performance substantially beyond what they had achieved in the past, but also strengthened team energy, confidence, focus, and joy, leading to transformational improvements in top performer attraction and retention.
Results: A Rapid and Lasting Transformation
Within 13 weeks:
- New customer acquisition increased by 15%
- Existing customer growth rose by 13%
These exceeded ambitious 6-month targets—in just 3 months.
Just as importantly, committing to A+ standards in every block became part of the culture—ensuring sustained, compounding improvement.
Other Success Stories
- A B2C Home Services Company reversed declining growth rates—not just recovering but surpassing prior growth rates, by systematically identifying and committing to A+ standards in what they controlled.
- A Technology Company improved product development speed by 50%, without new tools, just executing with A+ standards in what they controlled.
- Individuals have used the system to achieve career promotions, weight loss, athletic breakthroughs, and even improved family relationships, all by holding themselves to A+ standards in what they control.