So What Do You Expect?

I’ve come to believe that our accomplishments are a direct result of our expectations. Somehow we develop a mental list of the things we expect to accomplish both in our personal life and our business life, and somehow we manage to develop strategies to bring those expectations to reality. Most of the time this mental activity is done unconsciously in the background and that is fine if we are happy or fulfilled with the results.

Imagine the results if we had a method to consciously develop our expectations. Even better, imagine the results if we had a method to consciously stretch our expectations to a level far above those that our unconscious would develop on its own. If we could make that happen, our businesses and personal lives would be richer, more fulfilling, more meaningful, more significant.

The difference in process between fulfilling our unconscious expectations or fulfilling our conscious expectations starts by being active, alert, alive, and present in creating our expectations rather than allowing our unconscious to determine our future and then taking the process a step further to create “stretch expectations.” It requires that we actively exert our intellect into the process by asking ourselves a few tough questions like, “What do I really want?” “How will I get it?” “When will it happen?”

This self-communication question and answer period doesn’t occur like a bolt of inspired lightening while waiting for a traffic-light to change from red to green. It happens when we take some time, perhaps a series of management meetings which can consist of just one person or a management team. Create a dialogue to define your expectations then ask whether you can actually accomplish more by challenging yourself to stretch those expectations higher and then develop an action plan with a timetable and budget to accomplish those expectations.

The difference is in consciously knowing what you expect to accomplish versus that unconscious feeling. Make your expectations real, thought-through, and planned. Manage those expectations and you will have a more realistic chance of accomplishing them and doing it faster so you can then renew your expectations and set the new ones even higher.

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" For a free coaching session, email Larry for an appointment - Larry@larrygaller.com. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com

Other articles by Larry Galler

Customers Are Not Equal So Don't Promote Equally - by Larry Galler
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Should You Fire A Customer? - by Larry Galler
A small percentage of customers are just not worth the effort. They expect more than they are willing to pay for. At some point it might be in the companies best interest to send them to a competitor and let them try to make them happy.

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