Change is scary. It is easy to make excuses that the risks of failure are too high and reconcile ourselves to the comfort of the familiar (even if we don't particularly like the familiar and don't find it all that comfortable.) Wise people know this and know that they will need to start small with recognizable, feasible steps toward the larger goal. Tackling the whole thing at once would be too overwhelming. The small, doable steps are called "small wins" and they are imperative for fueling the positive momentum toward the final goal.

Consider this story cited in The Leadership Challenge by authors James Kouzes and Barry Posner (1995)

Charlie Mae Knight knew about small wins. She was superintendent of a dying school district in California where 50% of the schools in the district were closed. Those that weren't closed were run-down with broken windows, graffiti on the walls and rats running all over the yard. Worse yet, the teachers were demoralized, the dropout rate was really high and 98% of the children that remained in school were performing in the lowest percentile for academic achievement in California.

She started with small, observable wins, rather than suggesting that she was going to improve test scores and reduce dropout rates. She recruited volunteers to help her repaint the walls and got pellet guns to kill the rats. Soon people started noticing that the place looked nice and they began to believe that a change was taking place. Eventually, test scores did improve and dropout rates were reduced. Ms. Knight knew that to bring out positive change, she would have to start with small wins that would give people the hope and encouragement to keep going.

A small win is something that you can do right away that will represent a baby step in the direction you want to go. Once you have several small wins, momentum picks up and the ball starts to roll faster. Momentum is your secret weapon!

Here's a template to help you determine and achieve your small wins.

1. Determine three goals, personal or work related.

2. Analyze the long-lasting outcomes of these goals.

3. What are some of the small wins it might take to accomplish each of these goals?

4. What is the first step to each small win for your goals?

5. Begin.