First published 21 January 2019 on Your Best Year Starts Here with Nigel Risner.
Listen on Spotify.
We ended episode four on goals, asking what your number one big goal for the next 12 months was. Nigel opened this one by calling our first fight of 2019, because he has a real problem with that question. Focus on one goal, hit it, and two words come straight up. What's next?
His view is you need goals, and a vision and a mission sitting above them. Then he offered me 50p, sat in his own house, because I'd said before we started recording that I wanted more money. Job done for the year, apparently. I said no thanks (I've pulled the same trick on stage with a quid or a fiver, so I couldn't really complain).
Turns out we didn't disagree much. I prefer the word outcome to goal, and I brought in a bit of science about dominoes. Nigel thought I meant the pizza people. A domino can knock over one about one and a half times its own size and weight, so when I'm coaching someone I ask what the smallest domino is that they can push today. It might be booking the time in to work on it. It might be one text to someone who can help.
Nigel tied it back to this podcast. We had the idea in October and recorded the first ones in December, without knowing exactly what shape it would take. Decide the what, and the how shows up. Then he plugged the show so shamelessly I couldn't stop smiling. I was also smiling because I'd just noticed we hadn't set a timer.
Before we wrapped, Nigel went one step further on missions. Being the biggest pet food supplier in the world is something you could actually reach. Every animal in the world having healthy products, you never will. He's sharing his personal mission statement next time.
What stuck
- Have something bigger sitting above the goal, or you hit it and just ask what's next.
- "More money" or "get fit" can't be measured. Pin it down.
- Work out the smallest domino you can push today, then push it (unless you're driving, wait till you've parked).
- Tell people what you're going for so someone holds you to it.
I prefer the term outcome to goal, 'cause goal is something you aim for, outcome is something you expect to achieve. There's a difference.
Neil Martin
Sometimes you have to decide on the what and then the how will show up.
Nigel Risner
