You are at a networking event and meet a new person. She says, “My name is Courtney Langmire. I’m in the computer software business.” You introduce yourself and talk a moment or two about mutual interests or your respective businesses.

After three minutes you are standing there, looking at this attractive person and you have no clue what her name is. Why is that?

You go to a second meeting with a prospective account. With you is your file and your summary of notes from the last meeting. No one else in the room seems to remember where the discussion left off last time. You bring the discussion around to the important issues that must be resolved today, and the meeting is a big success. Why is that?

Both of these scenarios are the result of habit, a type of unconscious behavior. Habits, however, can be changed! Some of us have learned the habit of forgetting names quickly. Some of us have developed the habit of taking notes in important meetings, and summarizing them for ourselves afterward. This enables us to make the best use of our time in any follow up activities and in preparation for the next time we meet.

Someone once said, “Habits are like cork or like lead: they either lift us up or drag us down.”

I try to develop habits that lift me up. Here’s why. Habits help me be automatically effective!

We can harness the power of habit by making processes routine. When we decide that we must learn to remember names, we first must decide it is important and worth changing to a new habit. Then we decide what the process for remembering names will be, and decide to start doing that at every opportunity.

Do not underestimate the power of establishing a process like this. It is like the power of the exponential curve: “consistency over time, leads to explosive growth.”

When you are trying to develop a new habit, it feels uncomfortable and you must stop and think about it. Often after about three or four days you give up. However, psychologists tell us that 7 to 21 days of regular practice will make a new habit displace an old one. The operative word here is regular! To gain the benefit of a new habit you must persist! Learn to take advantage of the exponential curve in forming a new habit. It will make you more effective in your work, and happier in your life.

 
Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker