At this time of the year, there’s a lot of thought about setting and achieving goals. In fact, on almost exactly this date last year, I blogged about how my unexpected encounter with a sea otter got me thinking about this very subject. Today’s musings … about drinking water.
It’s a lot easier to drink water when you have a glass
Potable water … absolutely essential to survival, but unless it is contained – within a glass, a bowl, or even a cupped hand – almost impossible to drink. Sure you could kneel and lap at a running stream just like other members of the animal kingdom, but it’s a lot easier if it is in a vessel of some sort. Even animals appreciate drinking from an enclosed source such as a pond or a puddle.
At a time of the year when so many people set and achieving goals and targets for their professional and personal lives, this liquid reality offers an apt metaphor. Think of water as representing dreams and aspirations, the goals and objectives that you hope to accomplish over the next twelve months. Just like a liquid takes less effort to drink when it is contained within a vessel, desired targets are easier to achieve when they are surrounded by a solid structure. So what is this vessel that lets you move goals and aspirations from mere dreams to concrete reality? The outer form of the vessel may differ from situation to situation, but it must always be constructed of three components – it must be specific, it must be measurable, and it must have a deadline.
Here is an example
Let’s say that one of your leadership objectives Continue reading →