#davesdailychallenge (73): Tactical. Throughout this daily challenge series I have deliberately stayed away from being too tactical with my writing. You are surrounded with unsolicited tactical advice all day. Internet sages spitting out endless lists of “7 ways to rapidly lose weight”, “10 easy steps to financial independence”, and “The 1 simple trick to sell more”. Our culture seems to be obsessed with the simplicity and ease (not the same thing) of tactical steps towards a desired goal and the truth is that real growth isn’t easy. Sometimes, in fact, it’s really stinking hard. You have to look at things strategically and work on the underlying mindsets, assumptions, and causes of issues vice the more symptomatic approach popularized by so much of the current discussion. 

With this being said, I have had a number of my readers tell me within the last month that as much as they enjoy the daily discussions of more strategic issues that they still want something a bit more tactical from time to time in order to begin to implement these lessons better in their daily practices. So, staying in line with some of my previous writing, I need to give the people what they want. You want tactical? Ok, let’s get tactical.

Lunch…an often overlooked time of your day. Many of us spend it hunched over a desk never unplugging from our ritual of checking email. Some of us step out and eat a hurried meal at a local restaurant or take-out spot. A very smart woman once told me something that blew my hair back. In her 45 year career she could count the number of times she ate lunch alone on her two hands. You want tactical advice? 

NEVER EAT LUNCH ALONE.

Relationships are everything in our world. They are often the difference between success and failure in our professional world and most certainly have a major part to play in our personal ones. She told me that nearly all of the biggest deals she made started with lunch. People are naturally more at ease at a meal. Lunch is that little break in the day where we can unplug and reflect and our mindsets shift towards being more open and receptive to relationship building. When in doubt just listen and learn. Good luck my friends!