Deadlines are famous for getting things done.  Below is an excerpt from my book, Retention: Key Mindsets That Retain Top Talent, that illustrates the power of goal setting and deadlines.  

In 2005, a friend convinced me to join eHarmony.  One morning soon after that I checked my email and eHarmony said I had a new match. I clicked and it was Jim. (my now husband)  

During our first phone conversation I asked him the often-used interview question, “Where do you want to be in five years?”  He wasn’t sure. It wasn’t that he lived without direction or commitment, he just believed that if he worked hard and stayed true to his beliefs and values then the adventure would play out as it should.  In other words, he was admittedly not a goal setter.  No offense to Jim and those of you like him but that is an approach I do not recommend. 

Goal setting is a powerful tool that should be in every leader’s toolbox and in anyone else’s who wants to accomplish more.  Just think about how much you get done when there is a deadline.

For the last year and a half Jim and I have been talking about writing the book you are reading right now.  Talking was good at first because with each conversation we breathed a little more life into the project.  And then I went and did it, I promised an event planner that if she hired me to give their keynote I would have my book finished and available at her event.  That sealed the deal, I got the job.  Oops!  “Hey honey, I got the gig.  Oh, and I said we would have our book ready.”  

As the delivery date for the book grew ever closer we figured a ghostwriter was the answer because neither Jim or I had ever written a book, and it just looked like too heavy of a lift.  But then we both went and did it, we signed with a publisher and promised we would write the book ourselves and deliver the first draft of the manuscript in four weeks.

The deadline forced our hand. We took the total number of words needed for the book, divided by the total number of days available to write, which gave us a daily word count to produce.  This served as a goal within the larger goal that helped us track our progress.  We got up earlier, stayed up later, entertained ourselves less, all to reach that daily word count. Sometimes we failed to reach our daily goal but that was okay, we just got up and went for it the next day.   

I go on to write that we won’t always have deadlines to help us accomplish all that we want to in life.  But we can create goals which serve as artificial deadlines.  We do this by making them specific, committing to when they will be accomplished, and making them known to select people in our lives.  Then they have the power of deadlines.     

If you would like to pre-order the book, go to https://theretentionbook.com/ (free shipping) Happy goal setting!

On a recent outing I rolled up and out of our driveway and immediately I saw this man and his son sitting on the curb where our cul-de-sac meets the main road. “That’s kind of odd,” I thought as I pedaled past. Soon I was seeing more oddness, as other parents and children in ever increasing numbers, stood along the road talking or riding their bikes on the sidewalk. The sensation of family and community overwhelmed me when I reached our sizable church and saw its sizable parking lot filled with vehicles, children playing, parents standing around (practicing good social distancing) and others sitting in the beds of their trucks. Many people were lining the road and waiting for something, but what? I rode some distance but eventually my curiosity turned my bike back towards the church. I asked a lady, “what are you all doing?” She said that for an hour now they had been waiting for the teachers from Roberts Elementary School to drive by in their cars so the kids could see them.

Forty-five minutes later, refreshed and able to enjoy my home again, I was cooking dinner. That is when I heard the sound of cars honking and I realized the parade of teachers had arrived. I quickly grabbed my phone and made my way back to where I first saw the man and his son sitting on the curb. I watched as a stream of cars drove by with signs in the window and balloons bouncing on strings tied to side-view mirrors. The teacher’s heads were hanging out the window as they waved, yelling hello, and calling out some of the kids by name.

Any time you are deprived of something you are used to having its importance to you is glaring. Like the use of my right foot. Being fractured and in a boot, I just can’t move around the house like I am used to and I really miss that. We are all being deprived of the unlimited human contact we are used to. The relationships we form at school and at work really do mean something to us. But hang in there. Just like I will gain full mobility once my foot heals, we will all once again be able to freely meet and enjoy each other once again.

In the meantime, here is how I can help.

• I am an HR Consultant with over 20 years of experience. I have been studying the new laws that affect companies of all sizes. If I can help answer your questions, feel free to reach out.
• If you are a small business owner and need to talk through how to deal with layoffs, furloughs, and unemployment I can help.
• I homeschooled my children for several years. If you now find yourself with children doing school at home and have questions on how to manage the day, I can help.
• If you need someone to pray with you, I can help.

That is the “being shrunk” part. So, what about “being stretched?” Many of us are having to reinvent the way we deliver our services. For instance, today was the second consecutive Sunday that my church did not meet in person but met via Facebook Live. Normally I deliver my keynote to a conference room full of people but now I am talking with some organizations about giving an online presentation of the keynote.

And we are all spending more time at home and having to find ways to entertain ourselves. Raised as a farm girl, I love being outside. Walking and jogging in my beautiful Tallahassee neighborhood or on some of the lovely trails our city has is one of my favorite activities. But I can’t even do that right now because I injured my ankle and my foot is in a boot. I can’t drive or walk! Seeing that I was feeling sorry for myself over all that life has thrown at us, my husband went to the garage and pulled out the bicycle that had picked up some dust and rust.  He cleaned it up, filled the tires with air and lowered the seat. He put my boot on to test the bike and the functionality of riding with a boot. Once he saw that all was good, he called me outside to try it out. 

As you might imagine I was afraid of falling off and making my ankle even worse, and so I was hesitant to take the risk. But I did it as he walked beside me. I rode around our cul-de-sac and up and down our driveway. With my husband walking behind, I went across the street where some nice flat streets for riding can be found. For the next hour I rode and he walked and it helped my perspective so much. We’ve done this a couple more times since and it is one way I will get through all of this. 

This weekend, was my husband’s birthday. I couldn’t drive (because of the boot) to get him a present, and many stores were closed, and so I jumped on that bike and rode to the country club in our neighborhood and bought him a round of golf. (He loves golf!) I have to tell you I was afraid the whole time. What route would I take to avoid the hills? Would I be able to make it on my own? My heart has not had that kind of workout for years. When I got back to the house, my heart was pumping from exhausting and the excitement of the accomplishment.

I know that you too are being stretched and challenged because no one is exempt. And so, I would like to help. Here is how I can do that. 

• I am an HR Consultant with over 20 years of experience. I have been studying the new HR 6201 law that effects all companies with less than 500 employees. If I can help answer your questions, feel free to reach out.
•  If you are a small business owner and need to talk through how to deal with layoffs or furloughs, I can help.
• I homeschooled my children for several years. If you now find yourself with children doing school at home and have questions on how to manage the day, I can help.
• If you need someone to pray with you, I can help.

It is a story of a fictional janitorial company that created a position called a dream manager to meet the deepest needs of their employees.  The details of the story were inspired by real life companies that did the same.

The fictional company, Admiral Janitorial Services, was experiencing a very high turnover rate.  To find out why, they surveyed their employees.  The first thing they discovered was the lack of dependable transportation among their workers.  When they provided a permanent shuttle service they experienced a drop in turnover, coupled by increased employee engagement as the employees perceived that managers cared for them.

Inspired, they dug deeper and learned of the many goals and dreams of their workers.  Thinking outside the box, they hired a dream manager to assist their employees in achieving their goals and dreams.  Subsequently, Admiral Janitorial Services made a significant turnaround.

Employee loyalty, engagement, and productivity went up like the NASDAQ during the 90’s tech boom while turnover became a whisper.

Now I am not suggesting your company hire a dream manager.

But I do believe good things happen when we see our employees as people with full and varied lives, with dreams.  When we help others align their dreams and goals outside work with their goals inside work, we see more engaged and productive employees.

An organization changes when the habits of the people who make up that organization change.

Get in the habit of pursuing your dreams and helping others achieve theirs and watch your organization take off!