How high can your practice climb?

Most of us have not literally climbed a mountain.

Yet it’s easy to perceive success as climbing toward a peak, searching for momentum to the next level and driving to continue higher. At the 2016 Top of the Table Annual Meeting, mountain climber Manley Feinberg suggested viewing your business as if you were ascending toward summits through these strategies:

1. Declare your current climb. Pick one idea and make it visible — write it down or tell someone about it. Visibility drives velocity. Every day, for just a few minutes, find a way to move forward.
2. Anchor to an existing routine. We have to know, as we stretch out into the unknown, that someone has the rope in their hands. We can’t have too much slack or have them hold on too tightly. We have to know that when we fall, the belayer (the person who holds the anchor rope for another mountain climber) will stop us so we can get back on the wall. Ask yourself: Who do I need on belay in my life so I can accomplish my goals? Who needs me on belay — who needs to know I’m thinking about them and I’ve got their back?
3. Celebrate the summits, both big and small. Once you reach a summit, start thinking about what your next summit will be. Who are you going to take with you? Is it going to be worth it? How will you reach it? What legacy will you leave when you reach the summit?

Read more ideas from the 2016 Top of the Table meeting

Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist