Isn’t “Results Oriented” A Buzzword?
What does it mean to be “results oriented?” On the surface, it sounds like a click bait phrase employed to make a simple idea–focus as a positive quality–into a multi-syllable buzzword. Unfortunately, a lot of so called professional blogs, sites, and social media pages are very “results oriented” when the result in question is the sale of advertising on their platforms.
We are constantly being told that an orientation towards results is a valuable trait in an employee–without even really knowing what those words mean. If a result is the outcome of a process, isn’t everyone results oriented–even if that result is failure?
But being results oriented is a real concept, just not one that’s often explained well. That’s what we hope to do here, provide you with a definition of “results oriented” that is useful to you, while also exploring how to find “results oriented” solutions to your business problems.
Results Oriented, More Than A Buzzword
General Electric CEO Jack Welch once famously quipped: “At every chance, poke fun at anyone who tries to install process for process’s sake.” Mr. Welch was making a keen observation–an obsession with the process of overcoming obstacles can often lead one away from actually overcoming said obstacles. A focus on process can, counterintuitively, actually make the process more difficult. Let’s look at a practical example.
We all have to take on tasks we dislike, like washing clothes. A process oriented person might easily slip into delaying the task of washing their laundry because they’re overly concerned with having to do it. They don’t like the feeling of soap on their hands. They don’t like hauling their dirty clothes from the hamper to the washing machine. There are a lot of aspects to the process of any household task that can, when focused on in isolation, make the task seem daunting, or at least annoying.
Feelings of stress and annoyance correlate with procrastination.
The results oriented person begins the task by framing their goal positively. Industrial psychologists call this conscious orientation. Instead of thinking about the soapy hands or the tedious haul, the results oriented person imagines the relief they’ll feel once the task is completed, and the benefit they’ll experience by virtue of their clean wardrobe.
Result versus process orientation isn’t just about a trait a person might have. It’s not a strength or weakness to be discussed in a job interview. Rather, results orientation is a frame of mind, an attitude, that has been shown time and time again to correspond strongly with increased performance and higher levels of job satisfaction.
How Do I Get Results Oriented Solutions To My Problems?
Finding a results oriented solution to your issue requires a different skill: discernment. A business owner must be able to discern between process and results oriented solutions. The best way to do this is by engaging with the provider or vendor in question, and seeing their thought process.
In the law, we know that a case can be won or lost on circumstantial evidence. A potential partner’s attitude is perhaps the best circumstantial evidence you’ll have for their orientation. If they’re happy to help you tackle your problem, if they seem to enjoy helping you work through the outcomes, they are likely a results oriented person–and therefore worth your time.
If they seem unhappy to be there–unhappy to be tackling the process of making you a customer or client–then they likely aren’t worth your time. If you need a results oriented solution to a legal problem, consider consulting with the outcome driven experts at the Principal Firm, (407) 322-3003, today!
