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Day 1 - Zig Ziglar Headquarters, July 2015
I am sitting in Class 7 of the Ziglar Legacy Certification class. To quickly summarize what that is; after the passing of Zig Ziglar in 2012, the family wanted to honor his legacy. They did so by creating an exclusive training course for others to carry on the Ziglar Philosophies. I was fortunate to be in the 7th of these classes, which occur every 3-4 months with 15 to 20 in each class.
This is when I heard the question. The one that I ask each coaching client, board of directors, and leadership group. The one I base all of my coachings on - whether it’s a person or an entity - the questions are the same.
What do you want to be, do, and have?
That’s it. The magical three questions. When you answer these three questions in its entirety, your definition of success is answered. If a team full of leaders can all agree to the answers to these 3 questions for their organization, they will have a starting point and a clear path forward.
What do you want to be?
These answers can be in any or every part of your life? Do you want to be a better husband, great father, or a leader at the church? Do you want to be a gazillionaire? We have the various areas of our life (talked about in goal setting); Family, Career, Social, Mental, Financial, Health, and Spiritual. Looking at each of these spokes in the wheel, what do you want to be?
As we speak in goal setting, once you answer the what, you need to dive into the why. That will provide you with the steps you need to take to your definition of success.
Whether you want to ‘be’ a manager or an entrepreneur, is irrelevant. But take some time and think about that question. Put a list of things you want to be on a legal pad or iPad, but get it out there. Try to determine what those why’s are, and define the steps you need to take to get there.
If we are speaking of a company, do you want to be a market leader, price leader, distribution center, or quality manufacturer? Think about your organization in the 5 Basic groups; Leadership, Administration, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.
My list of BE’s in my 2015 notebook included being debt-free by the time I was 59 ½ (IRA age) - and I met that a couple of years early - why? because I put my mind to it. I wanted this for a lot of reasons. In my world, which is all that matters, I was a success.
So - what do you want to be?
What do you want to do?
This is a more active part of our dreaming and defining process. Do you want to go on more vacations? Climb a mountain? Meet some other challenges? Maybe you want to start a business, or sell a business … don’t let anyone else create this list for you, but look again at those spokes in the wheel. What can you ‘do’ in each of those areas of your life?
Do you want to retire? Do you want to get another degree, or learn another skill? The Dos are endless - in 2015 I wanted to retire at 59 ½ - and I did.
As an organization - do you want to put smiles on faces? Or socks on everyone’s feet? Do you want to give all of your profits to charity or add a wing to a hospital? What is it you want to accomplish?
What do you want to do?
What do you want to have?
Here we can be a bit materialistic and selfish, it’s a pretty straightforward question. To have is to own, have possession of, hold. What is it? Is it a new house? A vacation home? A million dollars (see Tuesday’s blog) … This is your time to lay it all out.
Maybe it’s respect - a legacy - or something that might be intangible, but it is still something you can have. Do you want to improve your character? Be known for your integrity? It is up to you.
As an organization, do you want to have a reputation as one of the best places in your area to work? Do you want to have a 35% market share? Or a greater than 20% EBITDA?
It’s okay to want things to have - maybe it’s the lake house, or for your company to merge with another. Again it is your list. Just because your competitor added a location in Mexico, it doesn’t mean you have to. Don’t chase anyone’s dreams but your own. Remember, you can chase them, but by the time you get to where they were, they have moved on to their next dream. You can’t expect them to stand still waiting for you. Follow your own path.
The Formula for Success
Whatever your answers are to these 3 questions about you or your business - that is the formula. Nobody else should be defining those answers but you. When you look back after delivering on these questions, you will be able to say:
“I am a success because, this is who I am, what I have done, and what I have!”
Drilling down and getting these answers is hard work today, but we at the Kole Performance Group can help you so that you will have a better tomorrow!
Let's define success with 3 simple questions