More than 80 percent of adults make resolutions each New Year’s. Many organizations and businesses follow a similar premise formatted as strategic planning, team objectives and individual leadership goals for managers. There are nearly as many techniques for goal setting as there are individuals and companies trying to make them.
And — no great surprise here — 50 percent of resolutions are broken by the end of January.
A further percentage falls off in the ensuing months, until there is a relatively small number left that actually succeed. Like salmon swimming upstream, few goals ever make it home successfully.
Isn’t there some easier way to focus on a goal that will ensure its success?
The just-released One Word That Will Change Your Life, by authors Dan Britton, Jimmy Page & Jon Gordon, suggests that there just may be.
The key, they insist, is to simplify life and business goals. While other authors have suggested similar strategies, such as limiting the number of goals to your top 10, or selecting specifics for a limited number of areas in your life, these authors suggest an ultimate simplicity: one word. Selecting one word, and focusing on it for an entire year, is the best catalyst for changing your life and your business. Complexity beyond this leaves the door open for procrastination, delay and mental and emotional paralysis.
The truth is, the authors insist, that people don’t remember mission statements or even cool slogans. One word is “sticky and memorable.” Once adopted, no one ever forgets his word. Instead of feeling overwhelmed or even censored by unrealistic resolutions, one word can provide a perspective for approaching the entire year.
“This one-word exercise has created laser-like focus throughout the year,” say the authors. “It has become a driving force and stretches us in all six dimensions of life — spiritually, physically, mentally, relationally, emotionally and financially.”
Each author describes his individual work with the one-word process. Using their own experiences, they demonstrate that this is not theory but a proven experiment that has worked in the labs of their own lives. The examples are helpful in their variety, including business applications and working with young children.
How do you determine your one word? To preface this question, the authors quote from the movie City Slickers. In this film, Billy Crystal plays a businessman who goes on a cattle drive. One of the cowhands tells Crystal’s character that the secret to life is just one thing. “You need to stick to that one thing.”
“What is that one thing?” Crystal’s character asks. “That is what you gotta figure out!” comes the response.
The authors are less cryptic in their answers to how to determine one word. They provide a simple three-step formula: look in, look out, look up.
The action plan for following these three steps includes unplugging from distractions and asking essential questions of yourself. It includes looking at the larger picture, as well as sharing your one word with a select “stretch team” that will help ensure your success.
The authors note that the one-word process often works best for those who are “tired of the same-old, same-old” and feel frustrated by failures.
The examples of organizations that have successfully used the one-word process are both creative and fun. A BMW dealership in Charlotte, N.C., put a car in the middle of their showroom covered with the words of each employee. Workers walking in each day would see both their word and their co-workers’ words. Customers would see the words and inquire as to their meaning. The dealership became known for its outstanding customer service.
At the University of Georgia, head football coach Mark Richt, had each of his players work with the process. The team’s words were listed on big-screen televisions around the facility as a reminder for each player to live his word.
In an organizational example of one word, the executive leadership team of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an organization of more than two million coaches and athletes, adopted a one-word theme for the year. That word was used to help build commitment and loyalty within the organization.
More business examples of the use of one word will undoubtedly develop and build on the basics of the book. A greater variety of applications would have helped to further solidify the authors’ ideas.
One Word That Will Change Your Life is a timely book that presents a simple, almost obvious solution for making positive change. Before thinking about that New Year’s resolution or any change you want to make, pick up a copy of this book.