Sense of urgency

How do you create a sense of urgency? I am building that skill. I had a close to death experience in 2016 that pushed my sense of urgency to do as much before I can’t anymore. It’s not easy when in general, people think they will live forever.

Monetary incentives work until a certain threshold, unique to every individual. In the case of your board members, that number is high, yet they don’t show the results you expect. At some point, too much money does the opposite.

They need to care. I found it particularly useful when the problem you are trying to solve is personal. Not many people ask this during the interviews process: why do you care? This question is compelling. It makes you understand their intrinsic motivation.

Making it personal does increase relevance. Urgency is still missing. Why would they be worried to do something in 3–6 months when it could be done in a year? “Being better than the rest” I am not a big fan when the anchor is somebody else. It works until a certain threshold.

The degree of relevance is what matters. Would you happily live without doing this? Asking that question gives me a better understanding of how their brain works. Empowering those people is critical. Seeing their results is a virtuous cycle; they care more.

Empowerment is intoxicating. Most people have already set personal goals, yet they haven’t found the platform to execute them. Listening is essential here. They already have the answers; I am still learning to ask the right questions.