An Embarrassing Route to Strategic Success

by Jeff Rendel

Many thanks to Mel Robbins, author of Stop Saying You’re Fine: Discover a More Powerful You and monthly columnist for SUCCESS Magazine, for putting me and many others on a more embarrassing route to strategic success.

Last month, while driving to Palm Springs to present the closing keynote remarks at national financial association conference, I was catching up on the bonus CD that comes with every issue of SUCCESS Magazine. In the spirit of transparency, I was about a year behind in listening to the monthly CDs. But, with 90 minutes of TSA-free travel before me, I was committed to plowing through two CDs.

As Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Mel, he asked her what one strategic slip-up individuals make when forming longer-term ambitions and plans for themselves. “They don’t willingly make known what they actually want to achieve because it might be embarrassing to confess to others what their genuine aspirations are for their lives, relationships, and businesses,” she responded. “Establishing, stating, and sharing this embarrassing statement (or set of statements) reveals one’s true objective and helps to institute a confident plan of action for success. Heck, now that you’ve shared what you really desire to accomplish, it’s even more essential to get it done.”

So, I decided to give this exercise a test run—personally and with some clients at a few upcoming strategic planning facilitation sessions.

Personally, I reviewed my strategic plan in business and life. It’s as detailed and as comprehensive as any strategic plan; however, my central purpose was to unearth a series of strategic statements and goals that—if big enough—would be embarrassing to admit. Heck, someone might think I was crazy. Would it not be easier to keep the statements to myself, give it the old college try, and—if futile—be at ease in that only I knew of the grand plans?

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