Legacy Thinking

I am just back from Vancouver and the Xchange Conference in Whistler. It is a well run event (run by TechnoPlanet). I strongly recommend it to anyone who is invited (it is a by invitation only event). I was a guest speaker. Speaking on blogging and Time Leadership. I received very positive feedback which is always reinforcing.

I also had lots of time to meet with resellers at the conference. I always enjoy speaking to customers. It is energizing and at the same time daunting to realize the things we still have yet to do to be truly excellent. I have lots of things I now need to follow up on.

The following is an article I wrote recently:

Your Leadership Legacy, One Way to Set Goals

I might be one of the few people who like setting goals. Fortunately, I have read people who set goals are much more apt to be successful than those who do not.

I have studied how to set goals as part of my time management studies. From this study, I have found many different ways to set goals. I use multiple methods. One of the latest ones that I am working on is thinking about my leadership legacy.

What inspired me to start thinking this way was a book called, "Your Leadership Legacy" by Robert Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca.

Think where would you like to be at some future point. One way to do this is to write a document that says, I am now "x" years old and have accomplished the following things. I am at the following point in my life, etc. The more vivid the vision can be, the more likely, you will achieve it. Imagine how it will feel, what it will be like, how proud you are etc. I do this exercise at least two or three times a year as part of my goal setting.

It is always interesting to look back at what I wrote at different times and how close I have come in many cases to what I envisioned. Sometimes I fall short but many times, where I end up far exceeds what I thought.

I am now adding a section to that on what is the legacy that I leave behind in the various projects that I was involved in? What will the culture be? How will the decisions be made? What will the impact be on the organization as a result of my being involved in it?

I am not thinking of what people will think of me, rather how will the business sustain itself? How will the business be successful and what parts of that have I helped put in place and have I put the right parts of it in place to be successful?

Thinking in terms of legacy can change current thinking. It helps me to focus on what is truly important.