Many people have heard the story about how the little farm boy led the stubborn donkey across the meadow, without lifting a stick to the donkey or forcing the animal. The boy cunningly dangled a little carrot at the end of a string attached to the stick. The donkey actually enjoyed the trip, but only after the carrot was introduced and he could take little bites along the way.
In our society (and business) today, there is a lot of talk of carrots and sticks. In fact some of the most successful and driven people I know use the power of carrots in their lives to achieve everything they want out of life. I thought I’d remind you (and myself) of their value, simply because its easy to forget about the value of carrots when you are creating a new life, at pace, with lots at stake.
Like most people I’m still perfecting this and could do with even more carrots. I’ve made a mental note to create seven new carrots towards my own carrot patch. Big ones, little ones and medium ones but most of all tasty ones…
The incident that made me think of carrots recently is illustrated in this next little story: one of my sales teams were perilously short of target towards the end of a campaign recently and showed little hope of achieving the target set for them for the month. With three and a half days to go, waning confidence and faltering sales pitches, we decided to introduce a small carrot. The person who closed the most deals in the 3,5 days got to have a complimentary dinner for two. The value of the carrot was almost irrelevant, but it gave some competitive people something to aim for and created enough stimulus to not only achieve target, but also beat it and create some energy for the next month.
Think about the incentives and rewards that you design for your own life. Most people think about only the BIG rewards, but being creative in the development of LITTLE rewards after achieving the mini- goals that you set yourself adds immeasurable power and momentum to your goal setting program. Why wait until the end; create natural breaks and milestones on the way to your big goals.
Rewards don’t necessarily have to be expensive either. Rewards can range from scheduling some quite time with yourself or a friend, to immersing yourself in your hobby, a cup of “the best” coffee, or you could take a drive into the country, take in a movie or read your favorite author. Someone I know gets her nails done. The theory behind giving yourself little (guilt-free) rewards along the way is sound. It enables you to refresh and keep creative and relaxed enough to succeed in a demanding world.
Of course designing a BIG reward can be very powerful. A trip to Roturua, Australia, Europe or South Africa or some other place that allows you to have R&R –rest and recuperation goes a long way to generating desired action as long as you can visualize being there, and take the first step. Book the trip!
Set up your series of goals and line up and tend to those carrots and watch your mental health blossom and your effectiveness triple. Most of all …have something to look forward to. You owe it to yourself.