“How do you get someone to push you?”
I was taking a wrestling class as a kid and that was the question the coach posed as he demonstrated a new move.
“You push him first. Then he’ll want to push back and you can use his momentum to your advantage.”
That may have been the first practical lesson I was given in the art of influence. People respond in kind. The actions we get are often reactions to our own actions. The question is: how do we begin?
Zig Ziglar once said that “a goal properly set is halfway reached.” I don’t know about you, but I always figured if I could get a 50% head start in anything, I’d take it! Of course it can take a lot of effort to slug through the dog days of execution, especially if your goal is to run a marathon or something tough and long-term like that. But the greater battle is usually for clarity at the onset.
So how do you get clarity when it comes to goal-setting?
You’ve probably heard about SMART goals before. If you haven’t, this little model could change your life. If you have, it’ll be a good refresher. Here are the steps to transforming regular, ordinary goals into SMART goals.
I grew up in the midwest and didn’t get to experience a Chick-fil-A sandwich until I enrolled in college in Tennessee. Boy was I in for a surprise. Not only was the sandwich (and fresh squeezed lemonade!) amazing, but people were thoughtful and caring. My senior year, I was assigned to research how Chick-fil-A influenced people in positives ways. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to see if my team could interview the founder of the company, so I made a quick phone call. Believe it or not, Truett Cathy agreed.
What we learned on our trip still influences how I think about leadership. But for now, I’d like to share a few notes about the man who invented the original chicken sandwich.
You may remember the Mastercard commercials that ran on television several years ago. Each one depicted a family having a wonderful (and expensive) excursion together. The punchline informed us, “there are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there’s Mastercard.” The subliminal message may have been that if you spend enough money, you can buy a priceless experience. Regardless, I thought the ads were brilliant. (Who doesn’t want a priceless experience with people they care about?) But they really begged the bigger question: what exactly are the things that money can’t buy?
I had the privilege of meeting the late Zig Ziglar (1926-2012) a couple years ago at a seminar in Richmond, VA. Zig’s words and ideas have impacted my life probably more than any other thought leader out there. It was truly one of the highlights of my year getting to meet the man who literally wrote the book on success. I realize not everyone has been acquainted with America’s “Master of Motivation,” so six weeks after his passing, I’d like to pay tribute to Zig Ziglar in my first leadership profile of the new year.
Both Zig Ziglar and I will see you at the top!
It’s pretty common that my friends or folks in my network will ask me what book they should read. I love the question, but it always puzzles me just a bit. Without any context, it feels kind of like they are asking me what outfit they should wear that day! But after a couple interchanges, it turns out they are usually referring to some kind of leadership book that will help them get to the next level.
