Attempts to reach goals through radical or revolutionary means often fail...here's why.
Jan/Feb are popular times to be heading into strategic planning meetings, and sales conferences to decide where to focus and where this year’s effort and resources will be directed.
Out of these sessions often come some big goals, which on the surface, are very exciting.
Here’s the catch – the larger the change required, the more our brains experience fear which can trigger the fight/flight response, often unconsciously in our minds and bodies.
When this happens, the opposite of positive action often occurs. In this mode, our minds automatically seek comfort and find it more difficult to put our focused attention on long-term goals.
Kaizen is a Japanese term that refers to the practice of making small, continuous improvements in order to achieve long-term success. Two ideas from Robert Maurer’s book ‘One small step can change your life’ can help teams work through big goals and avoid our brain’s defence mechanisms:
ASK SMALL QUESTIONS
Our brains love to solve problems and will actively work on questions you ask it. If the question is too big, though, it can trigger fear.
Big questions like ‘how can we build a new team in the Philippines?’ or ‘how can I write a best-selling book?’ will often have you or your team procrastinate, and get a fifth cup of coffee while you sharpen all your pencils. Imagine asking much smaller questions. ‘Who’s done this before whom I could ask a few questions?’ or ‘What’s a simple idea I can share in a blog’
FOCUS ON SMALL STEPS
All audacious goals can be made up of many, almost ridiculously small steps. What’s the smallest step you can take now to make forward progress? This way, small changes happen fast, which builds momentum and belief in the change.
Considering the above, what 2023 project can you apply these ideas to and how?
If you or your team are in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne or any regional town, we run hands-on sales workshops several times a year. The reviews we get talk to the practical tools, changed mindset, motivated to do things differently all speak for themselves. If your team need a more open mind, more sales strategies, sales tips get in touch.