Good morning! Now that we’ve reached the middle of the month, I hope everybody is back in the swing of things in this New Year. And for those that made resolutions, I hope they’re on track.
Show of hands, who made resolutions this year? Great.
Who’s already starting to waiver on their’s, if not having let go completely already? (I promise, no judgment or shame.)
There are two important elements to taking on a goal. The first is to make a declaration – don’t just think of it in your mind, actually say it out loud or write it down. And when you do, it should be in the form of a “What By When.” And have it be specific.
Imagine the difference between, “This year I’m going to be successful,” and “I’m going to close at least seven deals by April 30th, with a net profit of at least 100K.”
There’s power in specificity. And if it’s measurable, you can track it. It’s hard to track “successful.” But you can track the route to 100K. And you can tell if you’re on track, ahead of schedule, or falling behind.
The second element is accountability. It’s a large part of the work I do – creating accountability structures that are sufficient to resistance. Making 100K sounds like a great idea. But what happens when the alarm goes off in the morning and you have to get up early, in the dark?
Will power is great, right up until the moment when you decide to choose differently. That’s why we need structures.
And NYC is a perfect example! We can’t just change our minds and choose to not follow through on our commitments. There’s accountability here, and it’s powerful!
Lastly, I’ve got a challenge for you – an invitation.
Before you leave here today, create a What By When. It can be any result – large or small – that you’d like to generate. Turn to the person next to you, or across from you, and declare it.
Let them know the What, the By When, and the first action you will take between now and next Wed, in service of accomplishing it.
Look around. This is a powerful team.
Get clear on the goal, declare it out loud, and hold each other accountable.
And we can create anything!
