Most entrepreneurs are very focused people as a rule, but we all have lapses in concentration from time to time, especially when it comes to execution. Developing the discipline to remain consistent beats brilliant bursts of energy every time. Fortunately, developing discipline as a business owner is not an unattainable mystery. Here’s what you need to know.
Key Takeaways:
- Your business will never become more disciplined than you are. Your employees pay far more attention to what you do than what you say.
- Discipline beats motivation every time. Motivation comes and goes. Consistent habits create long-term success.
- Protect your priorities before your calendar gets hijacked. Schedule your most important work first, or less important work will consume your day.
- Small daily disciplines create extraordinary businesses. Success rarely comes from one heroic effort—it comes from hundreds of consistent decisions.
Why Discipline as a Business Owner Matters
In all my years as a business coach, one truth never changes: your business is a reflection of its leader. If you want your team to meet deadlines, you have to meet yours. If you want your salespeople to follow up consistently, you need to model that same behavior. Self-discipline in business is what allows you to model the behavior you wish to see in your employees.
When employees see a disciplined leader, they hold themselves to the same standard. When they see a chaotic one, they mirror that too. Your behavior is one of the most powerful management tools you have.
When I was in my mid-20s, I learned the hard way as an emerging leader. I grossly underestimated how closely my team watched my actions, tonality, and body language beyond what I said out loud. I thought I was good at hiding my feelings. I was wrong then, and I have taught many others the importance of understanding that we are “always on stage.”
Important Types of Discipline as a Business Owner
Time Management
Time management and discipline are two sides of the same coin. All of the big ideas in the world aren’t enough to compete with an out-of-control calendar, misguided priorities, and a lack of focus. Procrastination is a major hurdle for business owners, preventing us from managing our time wisely. Without discipline in this regard, nothing gets done.
Financial Discipline
Financial discipline as a business owner is often the difference between a company that survives and one that doesn’t. Even businesses with strong revenue streams can collapse if the owner spends impulsively, fails to maintain reserves, or doesn’t review financial statements consistently.
Self-Discipline in Leadership
Leadership and self-discipline are inseparable, because discipline in business management requires that you lead yourself before you lead others. That means making and keeping commitments, getting to meetings on time, following up when you say you will, and not letting the urgent tasks crowd out the important ones. Every time you say yes to: another meeting, another interruption, another customer exception, you are saying no to: strategy, leadership, planning, your family, and growth.
Self-discipline in leadership is something many business owners struggle to maintain over time. Once the excitement of a new goal wears off, the only thing left to get you to the finish line is a commitment to disciplined behavior, regardless of how inspired you feel on any given day. Remember that discipline reduces stress, uncertainty, and pressure.
7 Ways to Build a Daily Habit of Discipline
Entrepreneurs can’t rely on willpower to maintain business discipline. Willpower is a finite and inconsistent resource. Instead, focus on building structured habits so the right behaviors happen automatically, just like brushing your teeth. Here are my top tips for building that kind of discipline as a business owner:
- Identify your highest-value hours during the day and fiercely protect them. Once you figure out when you’re most productive, you must reserve that time for important work.
- Start each week with a planning session to define your top priorities. Use this opportunity to block out time on your calendar for the tasks that matter most. Don’t wait and try to schedule as the week goes on. Last-minute tasks and meetings inevitably come up and will drain your available working hours if you let them.
- In addition, schedule check-ins with direct reports in advance to reduce interruptions. Touching base regularly allows all parties to prepare and ask any questions they may have without waiting until it’s an emergency.
- Find out what motivates you. During your blocks of working time, try productivity techniques like the Pomodoro technique or the 90/30 focus method to help you get started. Silence your email notifications to prevent interruptions. If necessary, use apps that block certain websites to maintain your concentration and reduce distractions.
- Stick to a routine. Routines reduce friction because once you’re used to doing the same thing every day, you don’t need to think much about it. Although your days as an entrepreneur may look different, you can maintain a morning and end-of-day routine to help you bookend your work time consistently.
- End each day with a brief review. Did you honor your commitments? Where did you get off track? What needs to be moved to tomorrow? Regularly checking in with yourself will eventually help you recognize and eliminate the patterns that keep you stuck in a rut. I suggest that you score yourself from 1-10 in time, finances, leadership, and planning discipline.
- Get used to delayed gratification. Our culture has developed an intolerance for discomfort, which makes it easy to fall prey to pleasurable distractions. There is merit in working hard even without an immediate payoff in sight. Learn to find contentment in the small wins. Discipline itself is a victory, no matter what other results you might see.
What habit is costing me the most money?
What promise do I repeatedly make to myself but fail to keep?
Where am I making excuses?
What would my team say I am most disciplined about?
What would my team say I am least disciplined about?
You don’t build discipline one big decision at a time. You build it one ordinary day at a time.
Need Help?
If you want to develop more self-discipline in leadership, a business coach can help. Click here to schedule a free video call with me, and we’ll start aligning your daily habits with the leader you want to be. For more tips on personal development, sign up for my email newsletter to get weekly blog posts delivered to your inbox.
Coach Dave
