How I Get Things Done

WHAT THE HECK IS RTM?
Note: this article first appeared as a chapter in the book "Brewing A Creative Culture" it"s my way of getting thing done!
My name is David J. Morris. I am a chronic procrastoholic.
There I said it! The first step in realizing you have a problem is to admit it.
I was an “I’ll think about it tomorrow” kind of guy since grade school. If a job was to be done, don’t look to David. While I never openly admitted it, I was always looking for any angle to avoid action -- of any kind.
So what the heck is RTM? RTM stands for Right This Minute. Right is for doing the right thing and This Minute means now!
So you’re probably wondering, what in the world would a chronic procrastinator be doing as chief executive officer of a fast growing coffee company? Even worse, who am I to be writing about the power of RTM?
I am hoping the lesson will wake up a few other procrastoholics into discovering what I learned just five years ago. I know you can use this information to transform your company and your life.
Before getting into this helpful new twist on that tired old subject known as “Time Management 101,” I need to point out that I’m not talking about shooting from the hip. Of course, we have all worked with people who rush to conclusions, then strike out without the right facts. That was me a couple of years ago. This can be extremely frustrating and unproductive.
Notice I said the right facts. And for most action, you don’t have to spend all day debating or contemplating them.
I am not talking about analysis paralysis here. We all know that no action is an action in itself. Indecision can lead to the death of your culture and ultimately your company.
So just make sure you have the meaning correct and relevant facts before dashing for the door like a wild person.
I know that most of us want to get all the facts and consider all the possible outcomes before taking an action. So get the facts and ask yourself these four simple questions. It won’t take more that a couple of minutes.
RTM Quick Questions:
What are the relevant facts --not all the facts?
How does this action fit into our long-term plans?
Will this take us closer to our company’s goals?
What resources do I have to make this happen?

When used in the right way, RTM powers your every step and action like you wouldn’t believe without experiencing it yourself.
Move! Do something right now! Quit talking, reading and analyzing. It’s time to be proactive and make it happen.
I can promise you this, if you start to live this way and take RTM action, the results will blow you away. Of course it’s not a magic bullet -- there’s no such thing -- but it’s a company changing addition. Go for it!
Here’s a powerful example of RTM at work: In one of Dillanos’ marketing meetings, we decided to contact a local television personality and invite him to our new state-of-the-art roasting plant. This particular station was featuring a weekly segment where the anchor would go to different communities trying out other people’s jobs. One week he was a baker, the next he was a teacher, so we figured we would ask him to act as roast master, dressed in Dillanos’ attire during three 90-second news features. It is important to recognize that this promotional opportunity did not come from a member of the marketing team, but from Cassie, our executive assistant, who was eager to share an idea. At Dillanos, everyone’s opinion counts.
Now remember, the Pacific Northwest is coffee country, with specialty coffee roasters around every corner. Starbucks and a host of other major brands are a stone’s throw from the television station. We had what many would consider to be a slim to none chance of getting a “Yes” to our request.
We all loved the idea and, just like everything else at Dillanos, we wanted it to happen just about as fast as the thought came to us. So our marketing director quickly pulled together some background information to drive to the television station to personally pitch the story, which in itself, demonstrated the power of RTM.
Meanwhile, I decided the way to make the offer irresistible was to create a customized label with the television personality’s name and picture on the signature blend. You know, it never hurts to play to the anchor’s ego a little. I enthusiastically “convinced” our very busy graphic artist, Paul, to take on an almost impossible task of developing a custom label. I knew, based on my own graphics experience, it could be done within an hour. So complete with a professional look, it was printed on glossy adhesive paper. We attached it to several one-pound bags and were ready to go.
Our marketing director was already en route to Seattle to make the pitch when I gave him a call.
“Lon, where are you?”, I asked. “On my way to the television station”, he said.
With a smile in my voice, I told him to turn around and come back. We wanted him to bring along the bags of beans with the custom label.
“That’s impossible. Paul hasn’t had the project more than an hour,” he said. “There’s design, printing…”
“Don’t forget RTM, Lon. Hurry up and get back here. You won’t believe this label!”
I bet you can guess how this story ended. Not only did the television anchor love the custom packaging, but also he was out at our roasting plant with his crew in less than a week.
The three-part series was posted in streaming video on www. dillanos.com within three weeks of the initial brainstorm.
Another example of RTM is something I like to call the “Bathroom Technique.” Here is how it works. I am at a point in a meeting when there is a decision to make a phone call relevant to the topic at hand. Without interrupting the meeting, I quietly excuse myself for a moment “to go to the bathroom,” and make that contact on my cell phone. In less than five minutes, I am able to return to the meeting with the response.
While you have to use good judgment when and when not to dash in and out of a meeting someone else is leading, more often than not, this technique will add to its value and outcome.
The national magazine Selling Power had heard about the Dillanos’ way of making things happen in sales. A bold quote in a feature story on Dillanos Coffee Roasters says, “At specialty coffee trade shows, attendees are surprised to get back to their hotel rooms and find a follow-up email from a Dillanos’ salesperson they met less than two hours before.”
I guarantee you that nobody has more fun or gets new business from industry trade shows than Dillanos. We make a game out of contacting people the fastest. Our sales staff will have made three calls and be closing in on sealing a purchase agreement with a potential customer by the time the competition has fully profi led and considered whom to contact on their prospect list.
For many of our sales reps, a computer linked to the Internet has become their lifeblood. They hop on the prospect’s website and profile them in a few minute’s time before a planned meeting or minutes after the unexpected contact.
While nothing replaces face-to-face interaction, e-mail can begin forming a relationship you can build on.
I have to credit a big part of Dillanos’ growth to the power of RTM in sales. Quick response in every aspect of sales gives us a unique edge and instant evidence to customer prospects that they can count on us to take care of their needs now

Our salespeople are expected to carry their Blackberries at all times . If customers would like to meet, our salespeople can email their reply with a copy of their daily Outlook calendar, leaving it up the customer to fill in a time slot that works for them.
I could fill this entire book with examples of our staff living the power of RTM, but you get the idea.
Remember though, RTM isn’t always the answer. Annual budget planning, capital investments, acquisitions, employee performance reviews and a short list of other activities benefi t from patiently investing time to ensure a quality outcome.
Notice, I said short list.
Chasing after and getting new customers, saving those about to leave and just about every other daily action can and should be turned into an adventure in making big things happen in little time.
I would rather see our staff enthusiastically grab onto what they perceive to be the right facts, then aborting if it turns out to be the wrong direction, versus losing an opportunity over indecision and inaction. At least they are doing something and with guidance
and experience, they’ll hit the nail on the head nine times out of ten.
I bet you didn’t know that airplanes fly off exact course over ninety percent of the time. That’s right. Only a small percentage of the time is the plane exactly on course. If a pilot really worried about being exact, they would never leave the ground.
Too often we regret having taken the wrong action when the problem can be corrected in minutes, just by using RTM. Big deal, you made the wrong decision. Buck up and head in the right direction.
Leave your ego at the door and decide to undo the damage as quickly as you helped create it. How many of us have spent minutes coming up with an idea and then defend it for hours, regardless of its merits.

Grab onto the power of RTM and soon you will fi nd those around you either jump on board or are soon left behind. Since our humble beginnings, one of the things that has differentiated Dillanos from the other companies in our industry is our culture of acting on every assignment as though it is a grand adventure, a game of beat-the-clock that none of us would live without.
Remember, if saying “I’m not sure” is death then saying, “Let’s hold off” is suicide. Follow the plan -- then do it “Right This Minute.