Why small, manageable daily actions are the key to creating lasting habits
Words by Jeremy Campbell
Do you want to maximise your performance, achieve greater things; and reach your lofty goals? You know what you’d like to do but struggle with getting there and are often pulled off course by distraction? The truth is the small, manageable, everyday actions are the key to unlocking the barriers to your big goals.
At Black Isle Group we’ve been working with Sarah Broadhead, the psychologist to many elite athletes, including Jade Jones – the teenager who went on to win Olympic golds in Taekwondo in 2012 and 2016. Sarah is passionate about focusing on the process, not the big goal at the end of it.
In the lead-up to the London Olympics in 2012, Sarah and Jade would compile a weekly list. It would cover what the teenage athlete would need to do around sleep, diet, stretching, strength, technique etc. to move towards her dream of Gold. This equated to around a dozen specific actions each week, translating into 50+ small steps each month and more than 500 yearly. Sarah is quick to point out that by focusing on everyday actions you take away the anxiety of the daunting end goal.
At the end of each week, the athlete and coach would review their progress and agree on the small steps for the following week. On this eight-year journey to double gold, they were constantly being distracted by things which could push them off course or break the new habits they were embedding. But everyday actions brought them back on task.
At Black Isle Group, we have taken the methodology of our Olympic athletes and supported it with an innovative technology called Nudge. Through this approach, we’ve been achieving some astonishing and game-changing results.
The technology sits on the smartphones and PCs of our clients. The tech nudges people to carry out those everyday actions which will take them closer to their goals. We use it to align PEOPLE, CULTURE and STRATEGY. Our methodology and technology are constantly working to help individuals avoid distractions and focus on the key things they need to do.
We worked with the managed IT and solutions provider, VCG. Following an acquisition, they faced the challenges of bringing together two teams and two cultures while coming out of the COVID pandemic. They wanted to accelerate sales, increase employee engagement, and trying to achieve several behavioural changes across the business.
We brought the VCG team together to establish clear goals and to motivate and inspire them for a 10-week sprint. We worked with them to help create the right ‘everyday actions’ to achieve their goals. We coached senior leaders and helped them peer coach their colleagues across the business.
We rolled out our Nudge technology so that the VCG team got daily reminders to keep them on track. Our Nudge tech brought visibility – especially in the remote world – and they could track progress in real-time. They described our reporting suite as “gold dust”. Most of all, it helped everyone maintain focus.
The results even took us by surprise! They focused on attracting new business into their sales pipeline and over-achieved that by 360%. Employee engagement went through the roof. They created a performance coaching culture like Sarah Broadhurst and Jade Jones.
The Group Head of Sales at VCG, Jeff Wheeldon, said, “The numbers were superb. But the standout for me, is seeing the inter-team coaching and support. That is what makes a team succeed together. Sales, Marketing and Pre-Sales need to coexist for the success of VCG and the customer experience. There is no doubt this approach achieved much more togetherness.”
Perhaps the biggest insight we learnt from Sarah Broadhead and Jade Jones is this – Olympians don’t leave the learning in the classroom. Businesses do. Olympians take what they learn and turn it into results. In business, we waste millions of pounds every month in delivering learning by not putting in place the process to implement that learning.
Our work at Black Isle Group is all about that. Using the psychology and the process of the Olympian athletes, we aim to change how businesses maximise the performance of individuals and their teams.
The challenges of the pandemic and the looming threat of global recession demand a new approach. The choice for businesses is clear – keep doing what you’ve always done or work like Olympians to reach heights you dream about.
Jeremy Campbell, people & business transformation expert and CEO of Black Isle Group
