WEEKLY FOCUS

Solution Focused Business Improvement

Life is like a flight of stairs!

I watched someone climbing a flight of stairs- three floors and two landings, upon reaching each landing, they paused for breath, looked up – how far to go. Similarly, looked down – how far they had come.

It made me realise that the short two minute walk was playing out how we should view our own personal improvements. To achieve our goals in life, in business, in sport…in fact in everything, we must keep moving forward- we must never standstill. Just like the person panting for breath… to achieve anything requires effort. If not, we would have no challenges and effort would not be rewarded.

Goals give us the drive and motivation to succeed, clearly defined and with an end outcome. Up the first flight of stairs and a stop for a breath, look back and see how far you have come. Look up and recognise that you need to go again. Create new goals and move on… up the next flight and so on. Every flight being a victory and every landing a review point but with the bonus of having had several successes on the journey.

I once chatted with an FA Premiership Linesman that i knew and who was mentoring a referee newly appointed to the football league. His aim was admirable- to referee a World Cup Final! But where were the landings? The areas to stop and take stock? To see how far he had come already and how much further to go? To create your next goal- your flight of stairs?

We chatted and our fear for him was that without landing points/reviews and shorter term goals, that continually stimulate and motivate, the long term goal would just be too distant.

What about the people skipping down the stairs two at a time? While it may be simpler.. It is not also the case that you have achieved your goal and now realise that coming back down will be so much easier. Once we recognise that we can achieve , it all becomes so much simpler- and that’s why we always need some stretch. Challenge… Achieve… Re-evaluate…Move on!

You can’t rest for too long on the landings!

‘Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning.’  Benjamin Franklin