One of the most important things I discovered from the 32 people I profiled in my book, The Seven Strategies of Master Leaders, is that Master Leaders don’t just set goals, they set Tipping Point Goals. In his best selling book “The Tipping Point”  Malcolm Gladwell masterfully demonstrates in case after case where seemingly small changes can make a big difference by creating a positive domino effect. A “Tipping Point is the moment of critical mass, the threshold…” and tipping points can be negative such as the spread of violence or positive such as the spread of recycling. Let me give an example that I am very familiar with. For three years, I was a member of the Dalhousie University Community Committee (DUCC). The purpose of DUCC was to develop better relations between Dalhousie University, the homeowners who lived in the neighbourhood around the university, and the university students who lived in residence or off campus. The problem was there were so many student boarding houses that there was a real danger that single family homes would become boarding houses and the neighborhood would soon become a student ghetto.

Our most significant accomplishment, which turned out to be a Tipping Point Goal, was in getting the U–Pass, which is a universal bus pass which enables the students to use public transportation in the Halifax Regional Municipality during the school year. The results of the U-Pass initiative are:   

• Students have unlimited access to public transportation
• There is less car congestion
• Students are safer because they can use public transportation
• It is good for the environment
• Students have more choice in where they live
• Students are now paying less for off-campus housing because there is more competition
• Fewer homes are being converted into student housing and some former student houses are being converted back into family residences which means that our neighbourhoods are more sustainable

Another example is Heather Reisman, President and CEO of Chapters/Indigo who wants to inject $17 billion into the Canadian economy by reducing the illiteracy rate by one percent. This will result in a more literate and hence more employable workforce which will result in more taxes, less welfare and a reduced crime rate. My Tipping Point Goal for this year is to establish the Atlantic Leadership Development Institute. As the baby boomers retire, we must have qualified leaders to replace them in every sector of the economy. 

Your Tipping Point Goal

Think about a Tipping Point Goal that will bring you added success in 2010. If you want to make sure you achieve it write it down along with benefits from achieving it on your screensaver or somewhere where you will see it every day.  We would be pleased to hear about your Tipping Point Goal and your plans for achieving it in this blog.