Benefitting from a Small Thought

I’m not generally a fan of motivational speakers and their messages. While such speakers are usually talented and entertaining orators, try the next day to remember what they said, and… umm, it’s usually impossible.

Recently, I heard one of these guys speak. He left the audience mesmerized with his oratory skills. But more importantly, he gave everyone one small, easy-to-remember thought as a take-away. I heard this fellow speak at a two-day meeting for the senior staff of one of our client companies, about 60 people in total. It is an annual event meant to build internal kinship and foster collegial bonding, as well as a time when the management team presents lessons they learned during the past year, along with business updates.

Sprinkled in between the corporate presentations at this year’s meeting, the speaker’s first words were “I am not a motivational speaker.” But he was.

He has published a book, but I refuse to mention it here, since this blog is not a promotional vehicle. I am not even going to mention the speaker’s name for the same reason. But before I divulge the thought he aptly imparted, which is really more of a motivational metaphor, you should know that the speaker assured the audience that by putting it into everyday practice, you can achieve results that “are beyond your wildest expectations.” That’s a pretty wild exclamation, but, of course, one must take into consideration that motivational speakers are known for using hyperbole.

He said that all you need to do is write the number 211 on a piece of paper, place it prominently on your desk, and then remember – metaphorically speaking – what it stands for. Huh?

You are probably scratching your head at this point, having invested the past minute reading this blog, and not having the foggiest idea why you are continuing to do so, or where this is heading. So here it is, direct from the book: “At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, just one degree more, water boils. With boiling water comes steam. And with steam, you can power a train.”

The point is that going the extra mile, pushing just a little harder in every task, can make a tremendous difference. One small extra degree can produce exponential results: 211 to 212. We follow that metaphor at PondelWilkinson. It helps us perform beyond our clients’ expectations, and it really works.

— Roger Pondel, rpondel@pondel.com