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Issue 668 - "Communicating Worthwhile Goals Creates Enthusiasm" (Daniel Coyle and John Wooden)


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 13	Issue 668
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"COMMUNICATING WORTHWHILE GOALS CREATES ENTHUSIASM" (DANIEL COYLE AND JOHN WOODEN) John Wooden Video Clip (1 min. 29 sec.): Coach Wooden is asked: "What is the key to sustaining a high level of excellence over time?" Coach Wooden believed that enthusiasm was the igniter that turned hard work into industriousness. Coach Wooden wrote: "Hard work without enthusiasm leads to tedium. Enthusiasm without industriousness leads to unrealized potential. When combined, they cement a solid foundation." There are two parts to creating enthusiasm with any group: Establish roles and make sure each person knows theirs is important. Clearly communicate to everybody involved in the process what worthwhile results their combined efforts will produce. In his book, The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle provides a wonderful example of that idea: Adam Grant, a psychologist at the Wharton School, was asked by the University of Michigan to investigate the low performance of its call center workers who phoned university alumni and asked them to donate money. The work was repetitive and tedious, and the rejection rate stood at a solid 93 percent. The university had tried several incentives to improve performance to no avail. Some of the money raised at the call center went toward scholarships. Grant wondered if the workers would be more motivated if they knew more about the real-world uses of that money. He tracked down one of the scholarship recipients, a student named Will and asked him to write a letter about what his scholarship meant to him. Here is an excerpt: "I discovered that the out-of-state tuition was quite expensive but all my life I have dreamed of coming here. I was ecstatic to receive the scholarship. The scholarship has improved my life in many ways." Grant then brought in other scholarship recipients for in-person visits. Each student shared their story: "Here’s where I came from. Here’s what the money raised by your work means to me." Over the next month weekly revenues increased 172 percent!" The call center had communicated a worthwhile goal to their team. Do you communicate a worthwhile goal to your team? Does each person understand why they are important? Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 668. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 668. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE Loser And Victor He was beaten from the start, Beaten by his doubting heart, And he had a ready ear For the busy tongue of fear, And he had a timid mind Unto fretfulness inclined, Filled with many reasons why It was vain for him to try. Given a task he'd shake his head, 'Can't do that!' he often said, 'Times are hard and none will stay, Listen to the words I say. It is futile now to try, People simply will not buy!' Thus he walked the streets of trade, Both discouraged and afraid. But another kind of man Thought this way: 'Perhaps I can! If I will supply the pluck, Fortune may provide the luck. If I have the grit to try, There are people who may buy; Anyhow, I'll not submit To defeat before I'm hit.' One was beaten from the start, Beaten by his doubting heart, Beaten when he gave his ear To the busy tongue of fear. But another with his chance Seized the moment to advance, And came happy home at night Just because he dared to fight. Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)
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