The power of little carrots

What is your little carrot right now? It's winter and the economy is not that flash.

It doesn't have to be an overseas holiday or something big. Many of our inspired people have an ability to place little carrots in front of themselves on a regular basis. This can be in the shape of a weekend trip to a favorite cottage, fishing or buying that just released book or going to the movies. Still others have a way of incentivizing themselves through jumping on the bike or having a beverage with a mate.


In the fifth part of our nine part series: "What's Your Secret to Success?" we unpack the "fifth power" that our inspired people seem to have..."placing strategic rewards along the way towards achieving goals for themselves to enjoy."


Many of us have heard the childhood story about how the little farm boy led the stubborn donkey across the meadow, without lifting a stick to the donkey or forcing the animal. The boy cunningly dangled a little carrot at the end of a string attached to the stick. The donkey actually enjoyed the trip, but only after the carrot was introduced and he could take little bites along the way.

In our society (and business) today, there is a lot of talk of carrots and sticks. Nevertheless, with our all-consuming careers and running our businesses, we sometimes forget about our own little "personal" carrots. In fact some of the most successful and driven people I know use the power of carrots in their personal and business lives to achieve everything they want. I thought I'd remind you (and myself) of their value, simply because it's easy to forget about the value of carrots when you are knee deep in managing tough economic conditions, working at pace, with lots at stake.

Like most people I'm still perfecting this and could do with even more carrots. I've made a mental note to create seven new carrots towards my own carrot patch. Big ones, little ones and medium ones but most of all tasty ones.

I recall a time a couple of years ago when of our sales teams were perilously short of a monthly target towards the end of a campaign and showed little hope of achieving the target set for them for the month. With three and a half days to go, waning confidence and faltering sales pitches, we decided to introduce a small carrot. The person who stepped up the most (in the 3, 5 days) got to have a complimentary dinner for two. The value of the carrot was almost irrelevant, but it gave some competitive people something to aim for and created enough stimulus to not only achieve target, but also beat it and create some energy for the next month.

Think about the incentives and rewards that you design for your own life. Most people think about only the BIG rewards, but being creative in the development of LITTLE rewards after achieving the mini- goals that you set yourself adds immeasurable power and momentum to your goal setting program. Why wait until the end; create natural breaks and milestones on the way to your big goals.

Rewards don't necessarily have to be expensive either. Rewards can range from scheduling some quite time with yourself or a friend, to immersing yourself in your hobby, a cup of "the best" coffee, or you could take a drive into the country, take in a movie or read your favorite author. The theory behind giving yourself little (guilt-free) rewards along the way is sound. It enables you to refresh and keep creative and relaxed enough to succeed in a demanding world.

Of course designing a BIG reward can be very powerful. A trip to Wellington Australia, Europe or (quite honestly) anyplace warm right now can be just what the Doctor ordered.

Any other carrot that allows you to have R&R -rest and recuperation goes a long way to generating desired action as long as you can visualize being there, and take the first step. Book the trip! Plan the event.

Set up your series of goals and line up and tend to those carrots and watch your mental health blossom and your effectiveness triple. Most of all ...have something to look forward to. You owe it to yourself.

What is your carrot right now?.


Dwayne Alexander, our goal guru is founder of LiveMyGoals, the social network for goalgetters.