Meeting Monday

In my world, Mondays are meeting days.  One of the more important ones I participate in is our “Red, Yellow, Green” discussions.  This is where we look at the key projects and assign a color.  The color determines what we do with each project:

 

Green: The project is going better than expected; invest more people, time and money

Yellow: The project is going as expected; no change in spending, people or time

Red: Project is not (and has not) performed well; discontinue project as soon as possible

 

Our goal is to maximize our “green” projects and minimize all of the others (especially red ones).  The reason is simple, “Green” projects are going to help us accomplish our goals and make the company better.

 

It’s Kind of Like The People In Our Lives

During a recent “Red, Yellow, Green” meeting, it struck me that we can assign the same color code to people in our lives:

 

Green: People who give us energy and encouragement… not in an obnoxious kind of way, but the kind of person who just gives off energy.

 

They represent the type of person we would like to become someday.

 

Yellow: These people represent our comfort zone.  They like the same things we do, eat at the same restaurants, and have the same attitudes and opinions.

 

They’re individuals we’ve either grown up with or been friends with for a long time.  Yellow people don’t propel us forward.  Rather, they make it easy to stay where we are.

 

Red: Unfortunately, all of us have a few (or if you’re unlucky a lot) of red people in our lives.  These are people that are absolute drains on our emotions and ambitions.

 

They are human anchors.  They not only prevent you from achieving your true potential, they can actually drag you backwards.

 

If you tell a “Red” person that you’d like to start a business, they’ll tell you how 80% of new businesses go bankrupt and that you’ll probably be one of them.

 

The problem is “Red” people may be some of our closest friends or our own family.

 

Follow Our Strategy

Do you have a dream that you want to achieve more than anything?  One of the best ways to achieve this goal is to follow our red, yellow green strategy:

 

1. Eliminate“Red” people from your life. “Reds” will suck the life out of you and become a barrier to accomplishing anything worthwhile.  You need to eliminate each and every one of them from your circle.

 

This doesn’t require a “friend wide” announcement that you’re no longer going to associate with these people.  Rather, you focus on mastering the phrase: “I’m sorry I can’t see you as I have a conflict”.  That conflict is spending time with better people, but you don’t have to tell them that.

 

Now, about this time the question comes up: “what if I’m married to a red”?  This is a complicated question, but I’ll suggest that you explore relationship counseling to get your significant other on board with your goals and dreams.

 

2. Minimize Time Around Yellow People. Let me ask you a question: Are you the most motivated person in your circle of friends?  The one who’s most focused on developing yourself and pursuing your goals?  You might enthusiastically answer: “Absolutely!”  However, if this is the case you’re not spending time with the right people.

 

You want to be around people that have achieved more than you.  Individuals that are more motivated and are going to constantly challenge you to get better and reach farther.

 

Which brings me to:

 

3. Fill your life with “Green” people. As previously said, these individuals are going to make you better in every aspect of your life. They set the standard for you to aspire to.

 

Think of it like this: these people are health food for your soul and aspirations.  They will give you energy, make you grow, and help you become more than you ever imagined.

 

So how do you find “Greens”?

1. Join a group or organization where they belong
2. Sign up for their online mentoring program (you don’t necessarily need to know them personally, you just need to be immersed in them)
3. Devour books, audio programs and videos from people who have achieved what you want to become

 

Here’s the trick: once you focus on being around the right people, you’ll start seeing them everywhere.

 

A Successful Project

Apply the “Red, Yellow, Green” philosophy to your own life and you’ll put your “personal project” on the fast track to success.

 

Angelo is a Fortune 500 executive.