Identify the target first

Many times when I’m walking clients through the introspective process of gaining clarity, it’s like pulling teeth to get them to tell me what it is that they really want, (i.e. what their target is). It’s exponentially worse with corporate clients, and the as the size of the organization increases, so does the seeming difficulty in identifying a specific target.

Ask yourself this, “What do I really want (in life, in relationships, in business, etc.)? What does it look like? What about in 5 years? What do I want it to look like?”

Inevitably, the answers are centered on what the client doesn’t want – We don’t want to lose market share, we don’t want to do worse this year than last year, we don’t want to invest in more employees because of the uncertainty of the economy, we don’t want more problems, and on it goes.

A large part of what we do, is to teach business pros to use the same thinking tools that snipers utilize. Imagine being a tag-along on a mission with a sniper, perched high above a road through a mountain pass.
“Hey, what’s your target?” you ask.
“Well …hmmmm, see that big rock over there?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not the target. And that tree, over there? That’s not the target either. Neither is that mountain in the distance, and it’s not that little enclave of shacks to the south, either.”
Meanwhile, the convoy of Taliban fighters, on their way to the Spring Offensive, drives straight down the mountain pass road, right under your noses. Ridiculous? Exactly!
For many of us, targets drive right under our noses, unnoticed, because we are too busy pointing out everything that is NOT a target. Focus on what you really want, paint that picture in great detail in your mind’s eye, and then write it down. Clearly identify your target – then deploy to the sniper’s perch. Going on the mission before clearly defining that mission is like trying to eat a soup sandwich.

Boo Yah!