The Million Dollar Bookshelf
A 90-Second Read By James Ward.
A few days ago, I had the honor of teaching a Keller Williams University course called Win With Buyers to a group of awesome agents at the KW Platinum office and it got me thinking…
Have you ever left a training event with pages of notes and a head full of ideas to implement in your business?
Yeah, me too! That post-event feeling is intoxicating and why I consider myself a recovering convention addict. Yet, what typically happens to those powerful ideas as soon as you get back to the real world?
If you’re anything like the typical business owner, you have the best intentions to implement but then life gets in the way. The notes and manual go from prominent placement on your desk, to slowly being consumed by day-to-day paperwork, to eventually being relocated to a bookshelf or drawer with all of the other training manuals and notes for later review. A mentor of mine calls this the “Million Dollar Bookshelf” in homage to the unrealized value of all those ideas.
Without implementation, the time we spend at training is simply entertainment. That’s why I created the 10-5-1-1 Intentional Implementation worksheet. This focusing tool has substantially impacted the way I integrate takeaways from training events and I am sharing it with you.
The idea is quite simple:
Time-block 30 minutes the week immediately following and educational opportunity to review my notes. This strategically does two things- First, it gives my unconscious mind time to sit with the material because I may not feel quite the same “Eureka!” moment in the light of day. Second, by limiting my review to 30 minutes, I cannot get into the minutia of reliving every detail from the event.
In that time, I identify the 10 Top Takeaways from the event. By limiting it to a Top 10, I focus in only on the highest priority items for me today.
Then, I further focus in on the 5 Top things I want to Implement based on those key takeaways.
From there, I choose the ONE THING that, when implemented, will make the biggest impact.
And finally, I choose one 24-hour action step to get the ball moving.
Not only is this tool powerful for gathering your own ideas after an event, it also is a great post-event assignment for team members to bring insights back to the team.
You can download a full-sized PDF version HERE. I’d love to hear about your successes utilizing this tool as well as any other tools you are currently using for implementing post-event insights.