There are two issues with focusing exclusively on our goals.  The first is that the people with whom we share our scenes usually have different goals from ours.   The interviewer’s goal is different from the interviewee’s.  A customer is not interested in helping the salesperson meet a sales quota.  A jealous boss might have the goal of turning an up-and-comer into a down-and-outer.  It’s been known to happen.  Focusing only on our desired outcomes can result in a tug-of-war for control of a scene, severely limiting the scene’s progress and potential.  Not good.

The second, and bigger, issue with being exclusively goal-oriented in our scenes, is that we diminish our potential for breakthrough moves.  Breakthroughs reveal unexpected avenues for productivity.  Breakthroughs can only happen if we are willing to let go of our expectations about what a scene needs to achieve.   And what is a goal but an expectation for a scene?

We can give a scene an excellent reason for being (e.g. ‘Review the sales pipeline.’) without locking into an outcome (’Add ten new prospects.’)  This ‘un-goaled’ scene should be like a baseball game in the movie The Sandlot.  Those kids don’t play to keep score.  They play because playing the game causes things to happen that would not happen otherwise.  It breaks through their everyday existence, and as a consequence their lives become remarkable.  The same can happen with our own brand, it can become remarkable if we let go of our preconceived notions about what our scenes need to be.

When the goal is in our head, it has, in effect, already happened, and what we’re doing in our scenes is trying to re-live history, a very personal and private history that our scene partners likely do not share.  When we let a scene define its own goals, we give ourselves and our scene partners the potential to make history together.   Creating a shared history is what branding is all about.

2.  Give a gift to someone who’s not expecting it.   Helping people look good is a GameChangers trademark.  One way to do it is to give gifts.  A gift does not have to be big, or cost any money, and it does not have to be noticed or acknowledged by anyone, even the recipient.  In some ways it’s better if its not.  A gift can be a small kindness that results in a smile, or it can be a grand gesture that results in a whole new career path.   It can be knowing someone’s name who doesn’t expect you to know it, or writing the line of code that makes a teammate a hero to the team and earns them a fat bonus.   It does not matter.  The most important quality of the gift is that it’s unexpected.

Such gifts are the threads of which a business culture is woven.

3.  Avoid the go-to move.   Whether we’re athletes or advertisers, most of us have a go-to move, something we can rely on to make us shine in every scene we’re in.  For a baseball pitcher, it might be the fastball.  For an advertiser it might be ‘CEO as Spokesperson’ spots.  For a manager good at ‘putting out fires,’ it might be starting fires to put out. The problem with relying on a go-to move is that when we make the same move in every scene, it diminishes our potential to grow and improve.

One way to improve our game is to start making moves we don’t usually make.  We give ourselves permission to make moves we don’t usually make by eliminating the moves we usually do make.  If your strength is talking, spend a scene listening.  If you’re known as a leader, follow for a change.  If you’re known for being analytical, express an emotion.  By limiting your reliance on your go-go-move, you’ll add to your self-awareness, build your repertoire and expand your potential.

Knowing who you are is the first step toward becoming who you can be.