This month we welcome Envisor Consulting’s Ken Thomas and Ben Gandy as our new columnists. They are industry veterans, consultants and have been valuable periodic contributors to LM. Now, they will write “Leadership Advantage” for us bimonthly.
They’re off to a great start with Ken’s insights on the power of vision on page 10. The day I edited his column, LM Publisher Bill Roddy handed me and the rest of our team a copy of the book “One Word That Will Change Your Life” by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page during our weekly one-on-one meetings. Like Ken’s column, the book is about creating a vision for yourself and living it out.
Bill learned about the “One Word” concept after Clemson shut out Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 to advance to the College Football National Championship game. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney and the team have worked with the authors of “One Word” for a few years.
The idea is to focus on a single word for an entire year rather than set multiple goals or make New Year’s resolutions. According to the authors, having a single word as your vision for the year allows you to make progress on becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be.
Ideas for words include “courage,” “believe,” “enjoy,” “positive,” “forgive”—it can be anything, really. It just has to be one word.
To identify your word, the authors recommend you unplug for a bit and ask yourself the following questions: “What do I need?” “What’s in my way?” “What needs to go?” Once you discover your word, they recommend you share it with your family, close friends and inner circle and create reminders for yourself to ensure it stays top of mind.
“One Word” is not like a traditional goal or New Year’s resolution (which most of us give up on anyway), where you either achieve it or you don’t. It’s something you strive toward throughout the year; it’s more of a journey than a destination. Additionally, the authors say you should choose a new word each year. If you didn’t make the progress you would have liked to, that’s OK. Take it as a learning experience and don’t attempt a do-over.
I wrote here last month about one of my resolutions: to be a better listener. I was going to scrap it along with my other resolutions in favor of one word, but I decided to keep it. “Listen” will be my word. I’ll pay attention to someone’s reply when I ask “How are you?” instead of treating it like a rhetorical question. I’ll listen to my body when it’s tired, and turn out the lights rather than checking social media. I’ll just listen and not formulate a response when a co-worker, friend or family member needs to vent.
Swinney’s word for last year? Love. “One Word” author Gordon wrote about it in his weekly newsletter on Jan. 16. “Some in the media made it seem like Dabo is all about love and fun, which he is, but he also demands excellence and is all about the process too,” Gordon says. “He loves you and because of that he’s also going to make you better.”
For the 2016 season, there was no better team than Clemson. They beat Alabama in a rematch for the national title—the Tigers’ first since 1982.
