Annual goals sometimes do not take root. They are published by senior managers early in the year and, like New Years resolutions, forgotten by February. What can you do?
I once worked with a new vice president who had just been assigned to lead our recently acquired start-up. He did something memorable. He printed the year’s five goals on index cards. Then, early one morning, he placed a card and a carnation on everyone’s desk.
The heading on the card said something like: "Before you can reach success, you need to smell success."
Thirty years later I still remember that gesture.
Like a good story, sometimes a metaphor provides the hook that lets a message sink in and stick. People rarely remember the slide deck; they remember the carnation.
As a manager, part of your job is not just setting goals, but helping people experience them as real and present.
What story will you tell so your team can smell success? |