Vacations are over, school is starting… this time of the year is synonymous with growing activity, launching new projects and picking up where you left off.
Autumn is in the air; cool breeze announces the change of seasons upon us. Since centuries, autumn has been often defined as the time that precedes old age. In Alchemy, it is symbolic of transition and culmination. It is a time to take stock of achievements and bounties, when the operation of the Philosophical Egg is brought to perfection.
We feel the bustle of life, at home and at work. We make the most of this season – when we are full of energy and vitamin D – to accomplish as much as possible, as if stocking up in preparation for the recluse of the winter months to come.
But as we throw ourselves into work, the wheels of day-to-day operations spinning faster, we tend to lose sight of our goals. That’s why it would be of great help to have a continuous reminder of where we intend to be. It is similar to a personal vision board… You know, the collage of trinkets, mementos and images we hang on the fridge where we can see it whenever we are in the kitchen, which represents our goals and wishes in life, in order to maintain our focus. Well, the same principle applies to our business objectives.
Visualization is a powerful mind exercise, gaining wide recognition for its results. But regardless of all the hype, it is still little applied in business. And yet it works… Olympic athletes have been using it for decades to improve performance. Research has revealed that visualization exercises and the actual physical activity trigger the same brain patterns. It is an efficient way to train our brains to create new neural pathways. And these new pathways can be only built through repetition.
Pausing a few times a day to view our goals, whether presented on a vision board or on the company’s Intranet page, can help identify and clarify our vision, and thus bring us closer to our goals.
But to be truly effective, this visual aid must fulfill a certain condition (as is the case with personal visual boards): it must generate emotions. We have heard it many times, read it in many books, like The Secret, right? It works because there’s a good reason – rationale – to that. We are emotional beings. After all, the emotional brain largely preceded the rational brain. And if there is opposition between feelings and conscious thoughts, it is always the emotional response that prevails.
So, your business goal of reaching certain annual sales is a purely rational, logical target. By adding an emotional dimension to it, which may be the subject of visualization sessions of your employees (for their individual and collective benefit), you may achieve surprising results. As an example, if the sales target is attained, employees would get their Friday afternoon off during the summer time (more time for themselves or with their families), or get access to the gym or spa (valuable personal time), based on their personal interests.
The higher the level of satisfaction of your employees, the more engaged and motivated they are. Thus adding an emotional aspect to the business goal could boost your overall organizational performance.
And according to Alchemy, it is the perfect time to transform matter into a higher form! So, what’s the risk in trying it?
Have a great beginning!
Isabelle Vincelette
Expert in Organizational Improvement
