|
In November, my mom broke the femur in her right leg in a slip-and-fall accident. After a week in the hospital and four weeks in rehab, her orthopedic surgeon finally announced, “Congratulations! You can now put 15% pressure on your right leg!”
Huh? He then explained, “You can put your big toe on the floor.” What?!? That’s not even a “baby step.” That’s just a toe. But it is progress. And that progress is bolstering my mom’s determination to walk again. Every hour during the day, she stands up using her walker and places that toe on the floor. It’s a micro-commitment. The micro-commitment is a strategy used in sales and marketing. By gaining agreements through tiny, incremental decisions, we increase the likelihood that a person will continue to engage in the process. For example, asking someone to type their name into a field on a webpage is a “micro-commitment.” The person does not agree to purchase anything, merely to provide their name – a small commitment, a toe on the floor. The micro-commitment is a valuable tool for any ambition. Because when we experience tiny, incremental accomplishments, we feel successful, which fuels our perseverance. In mentoring, a micro-commitment can be as simple as sending a check-in text, taking a note, or confirming the time for the next meeting. According to Dr. Robert Wubbolding, a pioneer of Reality Theory, there are 5 levels of commitment: Level 1: Lack of commitment (strong resistance) In this goal-obsessed, resolution-surrendering, self-flagellating month, the secret to tenacity is applying Level 5 to a micro-commitment. In other words, do whatever it takes to put that toe down again and again. © 2023. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved. |