Ignite Conference

October 20, 2015

•  What is habituation? •  Why it can be so difficult to overcome •  How to see it to the door •  Some traps to avoid •  A quick summary

Your mind is like a parachute, it only functions when it’s open.

•  Military to rank of captain •  25 years in sales and marketing leadership •  Became #1 sales person in first sales position (over 850

sales reps) •  EVP of Sales and Marketing at 6 different companies,

all of them MUCH more profitable after my tenure---at least one 12X

•  Consulting, training, coaching for over a decade---working with startups to Fortune 100 companies

•  Bottom line: I have seen EVERY kind of personal, team and organizational dysfunction, and have a 95 % or greater success rate of positive change

•  “The diminishing of a physiological or emotional response to a frequently repeated stimulus”

•  New house example •  In essence, personal or organizational stagnation

without even knowing how stagnated you really are

“We are what we repeatedly do.” -Aristotle

•  You can be stuck and not even know it •  Leaving all kinds of productivity, revenue

growth and easily achievable goals on the table

•  Competitors will leave you behind…..so will customers

When you are personally or organizationally stuck, it is extremely difficult to not only SEE the dysfunction, but a way out as well

We are Literally Hard Wired to Resist Change

A 2010 study showed: Heart disease patients who had undergone traumatic bypass surgery were told if they did not adjust their lifestyle they would DIE, or at best undergo the life-saving procedure again

Only 9% modified their behavior

Our brains work to make everything a habit so it can conserve energy (called automaticity) …..even if the consequence is negative

•  Good or bad habit….our mind doesn’t care •  Research shows that over 55% of our entire

day is done out of habit •  “Habits are essential to our existence •  They can also hold us back from success •  Once they are established, it is very difficult to

even know that they are a habit

In the negative: Think alcoholism or other addictions; not maintaining healthy eating, exercise or sleep habits; chronic procrastination

Or going really slow in front of me on the highway

In the positive think:

Olympians, relentless entrepreneurs, great world leaders, pioneers in their field, world class surgeons

Slow drivers who stick to the right lane

So how do we change when our internal mechanism stubbornly resists change?

Recognize and address the habituation Create and INTEGRATE a new process You have to put in the effort, or you will not succeed

Which in turn becomes habituated

•  Instead of “Change”----”Improvement” •  Instead of “Failure”-----”Testing”

•  Instead of “Discipline”----”Consistency”

•  It only takes 21 days to integrate a new change •  Nope •  Dr. Maxwell Maltz •  Research shows it actually takes an average of

66 days to make an improvement stick (European Journal of Social Psychology-2010)

First and foremost, you must be honest about your current state------BRUTALLY, COMPLETELY AND CANDIDLY

Very difficult to do alone since you or your team have ingrained whatever is holding you back. Hard to fix what you don’t see

Create milestones----lots of them---with defined rewards

The achievement of the goal/project ought to include a major reward

Create a plan….an outline…..a sketch…..a doodle….anything which gives you a visual picture of progress

•  Remember that consistency is the fuel for momentum

•  A loss of momentum means heavy lifting…..again

We have tried this before and it never works…..

I understand…..therefore, you should stay exactly the same and never, ever improve for the rest of your life…..just give it up

Slay the naysayers. You know the type...those with a “can’t do” attitude

•  Leonardo da Vinci •  Mother Teresa •  Thomas Edison •  Steve Jobs •  Mario Andretti •  Michael Jordon •  Neil Armstrong •  Benjamin Franklin •  Abraham Lincoln

•  Galileo •  Elvis Presley •  Walt Disney •  William Shakespeare •  Martin Luther King •  Dr. Seuss •  Christopher Columbus •  George Washington •  Bill Gates

Planning around the future “vastly improved” self/team/organization

•  Recognize those in your orbit who exhibit the Dunning Kruger Effect

•  10 more if we had time…..

•  Have a plan – You really, really have to have a plan – Don’t skip the “plan” part

•  Get rid of the obstacles first – Most obstacles associated with people, not “things”

•  Work at consistently hitting the milestones – Have lots of small milestones paired with rewards

Dreams influence what we’re capable of, but our habits will ultimately determine what kind of lives we live