As I gaze into my rearview mirror and see pro football season quickly receding into the distance, I have a few observations I’d like to share. My favorite team did not make it to the Super Bowl. It did make the playoffs, was projected to go far and was summarily beaten by the eventual champion.
What I found interesting was the hue and cry that was associated with falling short of winning the championship. Several commentators so bemoaned the loss that they claimed the entire season, everyone’s time and effort, was without merit. Other football wonks said that it would have been better for the team to have had a losing season than to exit the playoffs so ignominiously.
Really? Have we lost all perspective? When we measure our successes singularly by their outcomes we put far too much focus upon the results. We ignore what it took to get us there. This is truly wasteful because the greatest richness is to be mined along the way toward our goals.
Here is a perfect example. In 1960, President Kennedy said that the United States would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. This was a fantastic dream. The technology to make this happen didn’t even exist. It was barely a gleam in our scientists and engineers eyes.
I acknowledge that JFK’s goal was vitally important. It kept our eyes on the prize. It was our North Star that kept us working the problem, solving the myriad of day-to-day challenges that led, step-by-step, to the our landing on the lunar surface July 20, 1969.
However, the most significant results of our efforts had impact far beyond that one small step. Certainly, it was an ego boost for our country and gave us bragging rights to an accomplishment that had been dreamed of since man first looked up into the night sky. But, what definitive and measurable outcomes did the accomplishment of that goal alone have? What do you use today that came out of the actual lunar landing experience?
If you look beyond the destination and examine the journey, we see that in order for us reach the goal, everything had to get exponentially smaller, faster and more efficient. New technology was invented to solve these problems. Soon thereafter, entrepreneurs lined up to see how they could make use of it all. That cell phone you could not do without, your blackberry, the arrays of computers and other high-tech devices would not have been created as soon as they were had we not been shooting for the moon.
It is imperative when we look at our business lives and our family lives to have very clearly defined goals. The achievement of getting a college or advanced degree is important. The value-added questions are: What did you learn, what insights did you get about yourself, your world and your future vocation?
Look at your significant business goals you have attempted. What other vital ideas and critical processes came out of the experience? How was communications enhanced, how were relationships built and what wins were celebrated along the way?
Let us keep our eyes on the prize, setting and achieving stretch goals that will be the milestones along our journeys. But as you strive, do not forget to pay attention to what you are learning from the effort, to explore the ancillary gains and opportunities that were created because everyone was challenged to achieve beyond previous expectations. This is how success in the 21st century will be measured.
Dennis Tardan is a communications consultant and empowerment trainer. His passion is helping people to communicate their core messages with greater clarity, effectiveness and confidence. His company is Tardan Professional Development and he is based in Texas, USA. www.tardanprodev.com. Write to Dennis at .
