The Eastern Way – Fundamental 20: Be Performance-driven

This fundamental was written by David Littman. David has worked in Eastern Funding’s Finance Department since November 2012 as a Controller. David is a CPA in the state of New York and has an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BA from Tufts University in Economics.

Be Performance-driven. While effort is appreciated, we reward and celebrate results. Use metrics to better understand how you’re doing and how you can improve your performance. Hold yourself accountable for achieving results.

I chose this fundamental because it directly applies to what I do here at Eastern Funding. Part of the Finance department’s role is to provide reporting to management so we can increase productivity and make effective decisions. To quote Ron Ciliberti, “we should aim to be agents of change and provide value wherever we can.” I cannot agree more with this statement. Although the Finance department does not deal directly with our borrowers, I feel we still provide an invaluable asset to Eastern Funding and our company’s ability to grow and be profitable.

On a personal level, I have tried to apply this fundamental throughout my career. In many aspects, this fundamental can be seen as fairly obvious. For almost two years, I spent numerous hours studying and memorizing for my 4 CPA exams. When the board would finally release your scores, it was then I would know if I would be rewarded or have to start studying all over again. There was no partial credit or “A for effort”. Just pass or fail.

Many of us at Eastern Funding have children, as I will very soon. We all know that when they are little we need to tell them to try their best and most importantly, to have fun. As they get older though, they learn that although you may try, sometimes that just might not be enough. If we are going to succeed, we have to work hard. When we fail, we need to study why, and how to overcome it. We can blame our failure on a myriad of reasons, but at the end of the day you have to hold yourself accountable for getting the results you want.

I truly believe reward is the best motivator and I think this fundamental sums it up perfectly.

“The highest levels of performance come to people who are centered, intuitive, creative and reflective – people who know to see a problem as an opportunity.”
-Deepak Chopra

Next week is #21 by Millie. “Be relentless about continuous improvement”

Thank you.