Page 98 - Hard Goals
P. 98
Animated 89
Reasonable request
Constant attention
Adequate amount
Signifi cant result
Possible guess
If you’ve ever read a corporate goal-setting memo, I guarantee
you’ve seen word pairs like this, if not these exact ones. Over
and over again people set goals using abstract language. Then
they look around bewildered as to why nobody remembers what
they said. But the reason is that they are using language that is
guaranteed not to be remembered.
I’ve had the word choice conversation with a lot of CEOs.
And while hundreds of them have gotten it, no problem, there
are thousands more that failed to achieve “signifi cant results”
on their goal-setting memos because they obtusely refused to
give “constant attention” to this issue. See how easy it is to slip
into that crappy abstract language without even noticing? It’s a
disease. If you want goals that people (including yourself) will
drip blood, sweat, and tears to achieve, you had better address
your abstract word disease, and fast.
So the next time you’re about to give a speech or have a
conversation about goals, ask yourself this question: Could the
people listening to me draw a picture of what I’m saying? Or
even better, “Could a six-year-old draw a picture of what I’m
saying?” Back to those earlier world-leader examples: my kids
could easily draw a man on the moon, a former slave and a
former slave owner sitting together, and a beautiful morning in
America. Can the same be said of your goals?
Why are concrete words so much better, the scientifi c types
out there are no doubt asking. Paivio’s argument (formally
known as dual-coding theory) is that concrete words get access