Part II

So this critical idea got everyone’s attention, and a bit later in the presentation another participant wanted to know something very important. “Since,” he said, “we’re all hard working and pretty lazy at the same time, what does it take to make this kind of change and to make it last?”

My answer is simple. You’ve got to have a big goals and an inspiring vision if you want any kind of meaningful change. Otherwise, why bother?

I have a lot of experience with this . My company, Axcelus, charges annual retainers from $36 ,000 to $120,000 to advise clients and insure action that rapidly grows revenues and profits. If reaching your business goals would give a 10x or 100x return on that kind of investment, well of course it makes sense.

But on the other hand, if your goals too small, if your vision is too mild, it may not make any sense at all.

In my book, Be Unreasonable (McGraw Hill, 2007), I tell my readers they must be uncomfortable if they’re going to get anywhere.

Why?

It works like this: That feeling of “uncomfort,” by definition, comes from doing things you have not done before. If you’ve done something before, especially if you’ve done it a lot, then whatever it is will feel comfortable. If it’s new and different, it won’t.

And your current level of results – revenues, profits, difference-making, whatever – are the outcome and sum total of all your current actions – that means the comfortable ones. If you keep doing those comfortable things, you will get the same results, no matter what.

If you want different results, greater results, rockin-the-house-down results, you’re going to have to make changes in how your company does things — often quite a bit – and that change is going to make you uncomfortable. QED.

So what?

Nobody in their right mind is going to make themselves uncomfortable without a good reason, and that reason is best provided by a powerful vision backed up by strong goals. Have something you’d be willing to walk over broken glass and hot coals to get there.

And you’ll do the things necessary.

Without that, odds are you won’t.