Check out my book – Attention! The Power of Simple Decisions in a Distracted World.
I coach business leaders and executives helping them gain clarity, focus, and make better decisions. You can schedule a Discovery Call to learn more about it here.
Click here to subscribe to the Simple Decisions series.
Check out my book – Attention! The Power of Simple Decisions in a Distracted World.
I coach business leaders and executives helping them gain clarity, focus, and make better decisions. You can schedule a Discovery Call to learn more about it here.
Click here to subscribe to the Simple Decisions series.
During the Little League World Series, a picture made its rounds of two boys sitting side by side leaning against a bus with their faces staring at their phones.
What appeared to be another example of ‘technology stripping away our humanity,’ was actually something different.
As it turned out, one boy was from South Dakota, and the other was from the Dominican Republic. They were using Google Translate on their phones to talk to one another.
As good as this makes us feel, what struck me most was how much effort they took to connect with each other. It takes work to find ways to speak someone else’s language. Then again, that’s how you build relationships if that’s what you want.
A few years back I auditioned for a role in a musical. I’d never sung in front of a group of people in my life. As I prepared, I leaned heavily on the experience of my then 13-year-old daughter. She had done it before. Auditions were second nature for her. It is her world.
More specifically, it is her language. I’m just learning how to speak it.
Growing up I was never really into comic books, but when my oldest son first expressed an interest in them, I bought a bunch too. I read. I shared them with him, we watched shows together and went to all the Marvel movies the day they were released.
Both of my boys started playing “Magic: the Gathering” several years ago. I had never played, but after bringing them to a few tournaments and watching on the sidelines, I bought myself a deck and learned how to play.
My boys and I have shared more than a decade of comics and Marvel movies. The same for Magic. And we still play and go to the movies the day they come out.
I’m not a big fan of labels, but it’s a language most of us speak, so I’ll use one.
Not a week goes by when I don’t read anything about the buying/work habits of Millennials or Gen Z. And most of it has to do with not understanding them or how they are killing one thing or another.
The fact is, as generations they are clearly demonstrating what they are interested in and what they are not.
Studies show that Gen Z isn’t all that interested in owning things. They make purchasing decisions based on value. Their decision to do business often aligns with the values of a company. They are also more likely to trust a review or user-generated content than an ad, even if it said the same thing.
In short, they have a language based on their experience, interests, and values. Then again, so do most customers.
So, if we want to build a relationship with the people we hope to serve in our business, we have to find ways to understand what they are saying. We also have to translate what WE do to all provide ways in which they can connect.
It is about having the willingness to learn how to speak a different language to develop a relationship.
It really is that simple. It might take some work, but if we’re trying to connect and earn the right to serve and sell, speaking their language, matters.
Oh, by the way, my daughter and I both got the parts.
Are you someone who measures your steps?
Specifically, do you use a device to track your fitness efforts?
There are loads of gadgets out there. Depending on your goals, you can measure everything from steps to calories burned, from miles biked to swim strokes, from how long to how far.
We’ve been told for years that we need to move more, but people still didn’t do it. That’s the primary purpose of these devices, to get you to move more.
What I love about this technology is that it took the idea of moving more and gave people daily targets and a way to measure progress. Quite literally, it breaks down your larger goals into steps.
More is not a enough
For most people it was not enough to know that moving more was a good thing.
That’s because more is not a number. In fact, more is so lacking in definition, pursuing it clouds your vision. More rarely motivates us and our efforts are often flailing and inconsistent.
To be successful, we need to define what more is.
We need to give it a number and pursue and measure our progress towards it.
Starting can be as simple as asking three questions:
Where are you now?
Where do you want to be?
How many _______s will it take to get there?
With fitness trackers, most people choose a daily goal of 10,000 steps. This sounds like a lot unless of course, you are already walking 9,000 steps.
You need to know where you’re starting.
10,000 steps also sounds like a lot until you figure out that to lose five pounds this month, you need to hit 15,000 steps per day.
You need to know what it takes to get there.
Know your numbers
As we find more ways to measure every aspect of our lives, I’m always surprised by how many people don’t apply the same methods to their businesses.
Several months ago my wife did two things that changed her business dramatically.
Megin is a photographer. In her first few years, she set and managed to achieve many of her goals. But recently she’s been operating with a clearer purpose and the results to match.
The first thing Megin did was to identify a larger financial goal for her business.
After taking into consideration the needs of a growing business. She then identified three areas from our personal finances that the revenue from her business would cover. That total was the goal.
The second thing she did was to break down how much revenue she would need to generate each month to meet that goal. She figured out how many sessions it would take.
She looked at the past year’s performance and noted the trends.
There were some months where there was no room for growth. Of course, Megin would still have to fill those slots, but she knew those months were maxed out in terms of her time.
This narrowed her focus on months where there was greater opportunity for growth.
Larger goal. Monthly targets.
Since that time, she uses her numbers to drive her decision making, her marketing, and her daily actions.
It changed everything because the number enables her to measure her success.
Rather than simply pursuing more and hoping for the best, each month is directly tied to a goal, a contribution, and a purpose.
What’s interesting to me is not the financial results, although that’s wonderful, too.
What I find most interesting is how it has fueled her creativity. By being focused on meeting a defined goal, she looks for new ways to serve her clients to hit her goal.
People do the same thing with their step counters. If they haven’t hit their steps by mid-day, they start looking for opportunities to get there. They get creative.
Pursuing more just doesn’t do that for us. And knowing your number makes it easier to get more of whatever it is you’re after. You simply have to define it.