Page 108 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Built to Serve

Life on the left side of the life-cycle curve is fulfill-
ing because daily progress is made toward realizing

the vision. For example, following my hospital stay in
El Paso in the summer of 2006, I sat down with this
model in front of me. My doctor recommended,

because of my high blood pressure, I lose some weight.
As a result, I created a new vision—one in which I was
healthy. I also created a new mission—losing weight.
Then I tested the vision and mission against my per-
sonal values. It made sense because my elevated blood

pressure was threatening what I wanted to accomplish
as a husband, father, and friend.
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= Next, I established the goal: lose 25 pounds.

Finally, I plotted strategy; I committed to working out
a minimum of three days each week while dramati-
cally altering my diet. Not surprisingly, the weight
came off. Fortunately, I had no extenuating circum-
stances to deal with regarding my weight-loss plan; I

just needed to demonstrate self-restraint—no more
steady diet of chips, candy bars, milk shakes, and
fatty cheeseburgers.

This example simply illustrates how the model is
used. With the weight gone, the importance of my
original vision of being thinner is more important than
ever. When my goal seemed daunting, I found encour-