Black Belt Thinking: Rating Yourself On A Scale From 1 To 10

Of all the tools I have ever learned about and used in my business, using a rating scale of 1 to 10 has been the most powerful. The 1 represents the worst you could be, your worst possible performance or outcome, and 10 represent the best, bar none.

Example: You're in a job interview and it's for a job you really want. On the way to the interview you hit a skunk in your car with the windows open. You now smell like a dead skunk. You sit in the interview and the smell makes you nauseous, causing you to projectile vomit all over the front of the interviewer's dress, which in turn causes her to vomit all over her laptop. Coincidentally, the interviewer also happens to be an old girlfriend you had dumped, for her best friend. That's a 1.

A 10 is realizing the person in charge of hiring you is the very same woman you carried out of a burning building the week before. The very same one who said she owed you her life. That's a 10.

Here's how this rating scale works for you in your business:

On a scale from 1 to 10, how well do you know that customer you're trying to close?

On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, how good is the advertising and promotion campaign for your business? A 1 would be you have a chain on your front door and a "GO AWAY CUSTOMERS!" sign in the window. A 10 would be that you have a waiting list for your products or service.

On a scale between 1 and 10, how would your clients rate your food, your coffee, your receptionist, the cleanliness of your restrooms, your businesses appearance, or your presentation? Just asking this question has power. Should you determine that you rate yourself at a place less than you find acceptable, the next question is to ask what is the difference between where you are now and where you want to be?

This method also works in your personal life. It can work on a micro or a macro level, for example: When you talk to your significant other or a child, ask yourself, "How well am I listening on a scale between 1 and 10?" When you're thinking about planning your wife's next birthday party, you could ask yourself about the things that would make it a 10 (And isn't that good relationship advice!).

The best way to put this tool to work, is to use it -and often. Ask yourself, right now, how focused you were when you read this article? A 1 would be that you fell asleep before you could finish it. A 10 would be that it changed your life. How bad, on a scale from 1 to 10, do your want to change your life -or your business? Try, for the next 14 days, to use the 1 to 10 rating scale at a level 8 or better, and let's see (on a scale from 1 to 10) what happens!