[5 min read]

Embracing the powerful “BE – DO – HAVE” leadership principle for long-lasting success.

One of the most powerful leadership models is the Be – Do – Have, which some say was first introduced by L. Ron Hubbard in his book ‘Conditions of Existence’. The model refers to the attitude and mind shift that needs to occur in order to achieve what we want. Ultimately, this principle comes down to one question: “Who do I need to BE, to do what I need to DO in order to have what I want to HAVE?”

The summary of the life lesson that Robert T Kiyosaki quotes in his book ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ explains this mindset quite well: The author wrote that it was when he was nine years old that he started realizing that his rich dad made much more sense than his poor dad. It was from rich dad that the author learned not to say, “I can’t afford it”, but instead to ask, “how can I afford it?” He explains this principle by relating an incident when he and his best friend Mike went to work for Mike’s father. Rich dad paid them very low wages deliberately so that it would stir anger and a sense of injustice in them and eventually for them to realize that in order to get ahead, one must work for himself and not for others. For example, in that part of the book when the author complains to rich dad that he can hardly afford to buy anything with the wages he is paid, rich dad tells him that he shouldn’t dwell on the fact that his wages are low, but instead ask “how can I make more money” because this stimulates the brain to take action. His rich dad says that when someone says, “I can’t afford it”, his brain stops working. It therefore kills initiative and promotes passivity.

What if you were able to live and lead in alignment with this powerful principle more often?  What if you remembered that you have the capacity to experience any state of being at any time – not just when things ‘work out’ perfectly or you achieve exactly what you wanted. How would you feel if you were the one steering the sailing boat, or driving your own racing car?

In this article, we will look at how you can embrace the Be – Do – Have principle, implement it in your professional and personal lives, and make sure you achieve your goals every time. Ask yourself why your professional life is so important to you. How will successful leadership change your life? What would that ultimately give you? Ask yourself ‘WHY?’ when setting your goals and defining your ambitions, and once the WHY is big enough the ‘HOW?’ will take care of itself. Your inspiration and motivation will always find a way to get you to the goals.

“When your why is big enough, you will find your how.” ~ Les Brown

 Your 3 WHYs explained:

1. Self
2. People you’re doing it for
3. The intersection (the connection between you and the people)

The best way to know what you want to achieve in leading your team or business, is to start with the end in mind. Essentially, you want to envision the ultimate goal and then rewind – just like an ambitious athlete visualises himself standing on the pedestal with the gold medal around his neck. The rule is simple: You must be able to see, hear and feel where you want to end up or you can never expect to arrive at your destination.

“What you focus on is what you get to the exclusion of everything else.”

HAVE – Create a powerful vision

Once you know what you want, you are ready to set your goals. First, create awareness on what is important in your life and what you would like to achieve. Continue by writing down some tangible goals that will assist you in achieving them.

An easy and effective way to set goals is to use the SMART concept by Peter Drucker. SMART goals are:

S:   Specific (State exactly what you desire)
M:  Measurable (How will you know you’ve achieved your goal? What will be your evidence?)
A:   Achievable/Attainable (By you and something you alone control and influence)
R:   Realistic/Relevant (Within reach yet still a stretch)
T:   Timely (When will you achieve your goal by and how will you celebrate it once you do?)

Other criteria for successful goal setting include:

• Your goal must be stated in positive terms
• You must take responsibility for initiating and maintaining your goal
• You must be specific by engaging all of your five senses when planning the outcome and the steps needed to get there (for example; you see your team working together smoothly; you hear the team members talking to you; you can feel the energy in the room; etc.)
• It has to be ecological (win-win-win situation)
• You need more than one way to achieve your desired outcome
• Your steps have to be specified and achievable
• Your goal has to increase your choices
• Write your goals as if you had already achieved them (which helps you access the positive state of successful completion)

“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.” ~ Tom Landry

Make sure your goals are written and reviewed at different stages (for example, weekly, monthly, etc.) to keep them current and relevant. Also, be sure to celebrate your achieved goals and steps, as this will keep you motivated along the way. Maybe you will decide to reward yourself with a set of golf clubs you’ve been wanting, or perhaps you will take a well-deserved long weekend away with your family to celebrate your hard work. Because 1-year or even 90-day goals can be quite overwhelming, make sure you chunk them into smaller, digestible pieces. For example:

• What can I do today that will bring me closer to becoming an authentic leader? What step or steps will advance me to where I want to be?

Each day, ask yourself empowering questions designed to get you closer to your outcome:

• How can I become more effective so that I achieve my goal faster? What skills do I need to obtain to increase my success strategy?

Of course, you want to have a general framework and plan as to how you intend to succeed in your position, but you also need to be willing to deviate when necessary. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself following a path that, although it was once the route you thought you should take, ends up being the route that leads to places you never wanted to go.

DO – What am I willing to do?

The next step is to ask yourself the following question: “In order to achieve what I want to HAVE, what do I need to be able to DO?”

Write down the habits and rituals you need to perform that will enable you to achieve your outcomes (i.e. daily habits). While doing this, you create awareness of the required knowledge, skills and attitude. Saying you will do something is not good enough; you will actually need to be able to do what you say you will. This is key, albeit almost too simple to appreciate. How often do we see people converting their hobby into a business (running a small coffee shop for example), only to find out that they don’t have the knowledge, skills or right attitude for it?

BE – Who am I?

Ultimately ask yourself: “Who do I need to BE to be able to DO to get what I want to HAVE?”

Firstly, you need to understand that you have more than just one identity. Let’s think about that for a moment. Although you are one, you have to have different identities within you for the different areas of your life. Yes, you are a manager but perhaps you are also a: son or daughter, brother or sister, husband or wife, mother or father, sports teammate, work colleague, etc. Consider all of your identities when completing this task. Wear all different hats and look at yourself from different angles.

This is who I need to BEcome:

• My identity (Who I am)
• My values and beliefs (Why)
• My capability – skills & knowledge (How)
• My behaviours (What)
• My environment (Where & When)

There is no need to become somebody else, but perhaps you need to invest into yourself and gain awareness around who you truly are, in order to become the best version of yourself. Only then will you be able to lead with authenticity and positively influence yourself and those around you.

Everybody who aspires success should use this highly effective strategy. Richard Branson, for example, has started so many businesses, ventures, charities and expeditions that it was quite impossibly for him to have been prepared, qualified AND ready to start them all at the beginning. All you need is a bulletproof strategy and the motivation to reach your goals. He is the perfect example of why the ‘chosen ones’ choose themselves. And now it’s your turn!

“Dare to make a difference!” #WeMakeItEasy #LeadershipSkills