The Commitment Engine: How it Changed My Perspective

Have you ever read a book that hit you like a well placed body shot to the gut? It’s like all of a sudden you feel a jab that was powerful enough to cause you some internal pain, yet in a weird way, also exhilarating enough to get your adrenaline really flowing.

Maybe another way to describe it is that you are simply reading and all of a sudden you have a mind blowing epiphany that the author is speaking directly to you and your situation. You get excited because you know you are on the verge of a breakthrough.

This is the recent experience I had with the book, The Commitment Engine: Making Work Worth It by John Jantsch.

The Commitment Engine and How It Changed My Perspective

I am a fan of the books Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine and I had no reservations about purchasing this latest title from John. I knew the book would be excellent, but I didn’t expect that it would hit me like a ton of bricks and speak to my current situation like it did!

The Commitment Engine hits on three key points:

Clarity: The purpose of your business and defining your commitment for that purpose.

Culture: Bringing together your beliefs and commitment for those who work with you or who support your business.

Community: Sharing your story and building a community around that story.

This statement from page 233 in the book really sums it up …

It’s about searching for the deeper meaning of your life and bringing what you find to every moment that you can, to your business, to your employees, and to your community.

This is something I had been thinking through recently. I needed to find that deeper meaning of my life and bring that discovery into my business and my community. I needed to break through the stagnation I was experiencing. The Commitment Engine helped me work through all of this.

Three Takeaways that Hit Meet Hard:

On Clarity: Until you are perfectly clear about the one thing your business does better than anyone else, and perhaps more important, the high payoff behaviors that you, as the owner of the business, must spend as much time as possible immersed in, you will have a very difficult time creating something that is graceful and effortless. When you have clarity, everything becomes simple. (Pg.3)

On Culture: Until a business owner can extend trust to those around him and give up control, there will be little more than constriction and contraction. (Pg.4)

On Community: When you have a clear picture of what the business stands for and the people who fill in that picture are given the freedom to manage their results, the natural outcome is a strong, vibrant, and supportive community. (Pg.4)

BAM!

Now The Knock Out Punch

The biggest hit that took my breath away was what John wrote on page 20…

Thinking small robs you and your business of the art of serving your own personal purpose in life and building a business that inspires others to do the same.

The idea doesn’t pertain to growing a big business, but thinking bigger about what we are capable of — or more specifically, what I am capable of!

I’ve been thinking too small and limiting what I believe it is that God wants me to do. I have been playing it safe and only focusing on building a business that was centered on me alone. And I feel it is wrong.

I don’t know what The Commitment Engine may do for you, but for me it has been transformational. It’s why I launched Dalman Designs and I am building a team. It was instrumental in my decision to partner with WishList Member. And this great book has helped me to think bigger than my own little world.

Check out The Commitment Engine today if you haven’t already and let me know if it inspires you as well.