Changing Someone’s Behavior With a Sticky Note

Summary

• When I started at 23, I felt I showed too much emotion, whether it was excitement, anger, sadness, fear, or anxiety.
• To manage this, I wrote a sticky note that said "be neutral" and placed it on my computer.
• This small act helped me greatly by reminding me to maintain a neutral demeanor on calls.
• It taught me that significant change doesn't always require a major event; sometimes, a simple sticky note can make a huge difference.
• When helping someone change a behavior, focus on future behavior rather than past mistakes.
• A useful hack is to have them create a sticky note with one word that cues the desired behavior and place it where they will see it often.

Video

How To Take Action

Suggestions for Implementation

Stay Neutral

• I would suggest implementing a "be neutral" mindset for calls and meetings. Just like I did, write "be neutral" on a sticky note and place it on your computer. This small reminder can help manage your emotions and present a more balanced demeanor.

Use Sticky Notes for Behavioral Cues

• A good way of promoting personal growth is to use sticky notes to remind yourself of desired behaviors. Choose one word that represents the behavior you want to adopt, like "calm," "focus," or "prepare." Place these sticky notes where you will see them frequently, such as on your computer or mirror.

Focus on Future Behavior

• When trying to change a behavior, focus on what you want to do in the future rather than dwelling on past mistakes. For example, if you want to be more punctual, write "on time" and put it somewhere visible. This helps reinforce positive change without the weight of past failures.

Low-Cost, High-Value Actions

• Sometimes, small changes can have big impacts. Implementing these simple actions doesn't require much money or time but can bring significant improvements. For example, setting visual reminders is a quick, cost-free way to steer behavior positively.

These steps are low-cost, easy to implement, and can bring substantial changes in both professional and personal growth. The sticky note strategy is a straightforward yet powerful tool to keep your goals and desired behaviors in sight and mind.

Full Transcript

I actually did this when I was first starting off when I was 23 years old and every time I got to a call I felt like I was showing too much emotion for my team whether it was excitement or like anger or sadness or fear or anxiety or whatever it was and so I wrote this little sticky on my computer and all it said was be neutral I didn't want to come off like anything was good or bad or like I was happy or sad just neutral that was probably one of the best things I could have ever done because I think that if anyone were to see me today the way I show up to calls most of the time is neutral and so a lot of the times I think that we think gosh change is going take this huge powerful event when in reality it can just take a sticky note if you're trying to help someone change a behavior what we want to do is we want to get them to focus on the future behavior that we want rather than focus on the past behavior that we don't want and so like a hack that I have is when I want someone to show up differently towards meetings what I'll do is I'll just have them make a sticky note and put it on their computer screen with one word and that one word is a cue for the behavior that we want them to exhibit so for myself