“My goal is to grow the number of Toastmasters clubs (or quarterly sales of ice cream) by 13%.”

Exciting, isn’t it?

If you work in sales, finance… or are a Toastmasters District Leader!

For the rest of the population however – this statement might rather produce a yawn.

The thing is: Have you ever tried to imagine 13% growth? I’ll give you some time…

Not so easy, huh?

For most people, close to impossible. And guess what: It’s kind of hard to get excited about something that you can’t imagine.

But how to make a growth goal exciting?

Attempt #1:

“We want to grow the number of clubs in Division B by 13%, yay!”

That’s cute, isn’t it? In fact not. It’s boring to tears.

Attempt #2:

“We want to add 2 new Toastmasters clubs in Ukraine. If we manage that, Toastmasters Ukraine

1. Will manage their own budget
2. Will always send a representative to the District Contest and
3. Will not be governed by a Division Director living in a far-away Slovakia, but by one living in Ukraine”

Can you see the difference?

The “corporate souls” among us (and those influenced) are used to the spreadsheet work: Add a baseline. Type a formula. Drag right to extend calculations. Result resembles Attempt #1: “Our goal is to grow by 13%.”

Now you know it’s not cute though. And so…

Attempt #2, anyone?

Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash