KNOWING vs DOING or THE KNOWING-DOING GAP

I read with great interest the news report entitled 'Recession Spurs Self Improvement' - with the secondary by-passage which reads "Personal development has grown steadily; finance courses see the highest uptake" - in today's issue of the 'Sunday Times'.

The report also highlighted the apparently lucrative revenues of recent popular seminars/workshops in Singapore:

- Adam Khoo charges S$3,500 for a 18-month Wealth Academy course, which starts off with a 4-day intensive seminar with monthly follow-ups;

- Robert Kiyosaki recently charged S$1,297 for a 3-day seminar based on his book, 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad';

- Anthony Robbins is scheduled to return to Singapore in September this year for a major event at the Singapore Expo; ticket ranges from S$995 to S$3,995 per pax;

- Success Resources charged S$1,995 for their 4-day flagship event, 'Never Work Again';

- DynaMind Resources offers a 2-day seminar, 'ReDesign Your Life' (price not given);

Looking purely at the numbers, they certainly cost a princely sum, especially in the context of today's bleak economic times.

What is the ROI (Return of Investment)?

This is definitely a difficult question to answer. Nonetheless, I like to explore with readers.

I reckon there is nothing inherently "wrong or bad" - or should I say, "an absolute waste of money" - with attending popular seminars/workshops, no matter how much marketing hype that's involved, as long as the seminar/workshop participants can derive true value through diligent adaptation & consistent application of what they have learnt in their own personal &/or professional lives.

Understanding the operational mechanics of personal change (to be frank, "money" problem is essentially an "idea" problem), & knowing what the seminar/workshop presenters have offered in terms of professional advice & expert suggestions constitute just one small aspect.

Putting all the known stuff to work in one's own personal or professional life is a far more critical aspect, as it requires clear thinking & thoughtful planning, besides a bias for & commitment to action.

The crucial issue I am addressing here is this gap between knowing & doing.

Adam Khoo is absolutely right to say that "Your most important asset is yourself. . . The returns are infinite. When you invest in yourself, it's something that no one can take away from you."

His affirmative statement, in realistic terms, implies taking personal responsibility for one's own life, as well as be accountable for one's own actions as well as consequences, as a result.

In tactical terms, & in the first instance, I believe that these actionable components generally boil down to a requisite personal attitudinal change & also the quick adoption of new personal habits.

As the great physicist Albert Einstein is believed to have said that, "it's insane to do the same thing over & over again & expect different results".

In other words, it's time to change, for the better.

Many seminar/workshop participants expect to find all their answers "out there". The harsh reality is this: the answers are not out there. Sad to say, this is a mistaken notion.

All they actually get in the seminars/workshops are more "data", which unfortunately, to their chagrin, adds more "drama" to their own personal experiences, especially when one is not clear about one's personal strengths & weaknesses.

[If one looks objectively at the "data", much of it is pure common sense; a lot of it is also already known or readily available in published resources or floating on the net. After all, with due respect, most motivation as well as wealth creation experts often put their thoughts first on paper, as a meal ticket to the lecture circuit.]

The brutal facts are such that the answers most people are seeking, in most instances, are all available from within themselves.

'Know Thyself', as Socrates had advocated centuries ago, is the foundational stone to personal success achievement.

In a nut shell, what do you really, really want in your life? This calls for clarity of thought.

In fairness to all the motivational seminars/workshops, the presenters do offer many choices or avenues of possibilities, but the seminar/workshop participants still need to think through the many options & make a final decision to go for one in their own personal contexts.

Next, & most importantly, putting the final decision to work, by setting out a plan of action to meet the agreed objectives, scheduled date of completion, accountability (as other people may be involved, e.g. boss, spouse, colleague, etc.), performance metrics, identified resources to use & foreseen obstacles to deal with, & monitoring of feedback, with flexibility of adjustment where necessary.

The acid test is in the planned execution of the chosen personal strategy, as formulated in the eventual plan of action.

Like a rocket which sends the space capsule to the moon, the success of the journey is always a function of the correction of its flight path.

Transposing in the personal utility perspective, correction & adjustment of one's tactics - a true measure of one's flexibility as well as agility - requires persistence, perseverance as well as patience & faith. This is where most people lose interest & give up.

The way as I see it, determined & consistent execution can readily help us to narrow the gap between knowing & doing, & it invariably holds the vital key to personal success achievement.

I often like to use the KASH BOX analogy, originally developed by coach David Herdlinger & expanded/fine-tuned by another coach Leanne-Hoagland Smith.

Here's how the KASH BOX is configured.

On the left of the box, we have K = Knowledge; S = Skills.

That's what we often pick up in a seminar/workshop. In reality, this is the learning or knowledge component.

On the right of the box, we have A = Attitudinal Change; H = Habits.

That's what we do with what we have picked up from the seminar/workshop, as reflected in our performance results. In reality, this is the productivity component, which is the physical manifestation - or more precisely, internalisation - of our attitudinal change & habitual renewal.

If we do not produce the requisite results from what we have learned or acquired, there will be a "negative cash flow" or "negative drain" in the KASH BOX.

In the reverse, more productivity on our personal part means more "positive cash flow" in the KASH BOX.

In the end analysis, I wish to emphasise, sustainable personal change comes from our personal productivity - by what we do consistently in our own personal &/or professional lives, & not measured by what we have stored in the head.