Our world moves so quickly now. Think back 10 years ago. What’s changed in your life? Do you have the same hairstyle? Probably not. Drive the same car? Unlikely. Same phone? There’s no way, right? (After all, the iPhone didn’t come along until 2007.) In this turbo-charged world very few things stand the test of time. The Secret by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller is one of those things. Serving others and becoming the kind of leader people want to follow never goes out of style.
Ken and Mark introduced the SERVE model in The Secret and it’s a model that I refer to often in my daily work. SERVE as a word reminds us to put service first. Service to our co-workers, our clients, our families, people we encounter in our daily lives. When we think others first we change how we approach those relationships. It’s a powerful shift. It can also be very difficult.
SERVE as an acronym helps us break service down into workable parts. For me, an inspiring element of the SERVE model is the very first tenet: See the Future. Ten years ago did you envision the life you have today? I didn’t. In fact, the work I do didn’t really exist 10 years ago. I manage and develop strategy on social platforms. I didn’t even have a MySpace page in 2004! So while none of us can predict the future, we can plan for the kind of people we want to be. The kind of companies we want to create. We can “envision a compelling picture of a preferred future” as Mark and Ken encourage us in The Secret. To do that we have to be intentional. We have to ask questions. Mark and Ken suggest starting here: “What do I want our organization to accomplish? How do we measure our success? What do I want to be true in the future that isn’t true today?”
Take a moment and give these questions some thought. They really trigger some deep thinking about your work, don’t they? That’s the real value you’ll find in The Secret. It’s a business fable that sparks your thinking at a deeper level. Once you start thinking in this way, there’s a shift in how you approach your work and your life. These principles work in business, but they have just as much value in your family life. Imagine what you could accomplish – at home and at work – if you started really seeing what the future can be and started crafting it now.
Are you ready to start creating your future?
Christy Kirk, Vice President of Client Services, is a social media strategist, writer, and former television journalist, who’s done everything from launch a news department to create social content and strategy for Fortune 500 companies and brands including Pampers Diapers, Pantene, Luvs Diapers and Carlson Rezidor Hotels. Now, Christy manages marketing projects for Weaving Influence, with an emphasis on social media marketing. She is also a wife and mother of three children, one dog, and one cat. She loves reading, baking, running, hiking and exploring new places.