What is Success to You?

When I met Steve, he was working hard, and enjoying some of the fruits of his hard work.  Taking the occasional family trip, getting new golf clubs, and buying his dream car. He came to me because he wanted to grow his company and wasn’t sure what that needed to look like.  What he was currently doing wasn’t giving him the results, he wanted. He was still working too much. He was frustrated. He was mad because he felt like his team wasn’t keeping up with him. He was pulling them along, not working in tandem.

We talked specifically about what he wanted to accomplish. I asked him what success looked like for him and his company. He painted a beautiful picture. We talked about what it could look like to work together. I had him do the exercise below.  It. Changed. Everything.

Steve learned that he was chasing a mystical version of “business success”. A story that he had created over the years. He was trying to grow “that” company not the company that he really wanted.

Sometimes we create a mythical goal, sometimes we just take what we see on TV or hear others talk about and make that our story too. Once Steve recognized that the story in his head didn’t match the answers to the 3 areas in the exercise, he realized he was chasing the wrong goals, the wrong dream! We clarified what he needed to do more of, and less of to reach what he had written under these three areas.

When I met Steve the other day, he came into the room so relaxed, so confident. He looked 10 years younger. Today, Steve is reaching his goals. His company is more successful than ever, but it looks very different than the one that existed a couple of years ago. His role has changed too. Steve said for the first time he has clarity about where the company is going, and how he can get there. He and his family have some incredible plans too. The biggest pivot point for Steve was clarifying what success meant to him, not chasing someone else’s definition.