Why the Legacy Map Matters
“If I take 30 steps linearly, I get to 30. If I take 30 steps exponentially, I get to a billion.” That’s from futurist and thought-leader Ray Kurzweil.
One of the key benefits of my Legacy Map is training clients to think exponentially instead of linearly — perhaps for their first time ever. This paradigm shift is an essential skill in our age of blistering-fast advances in technology.
The Birth of the Legacy Map
I first developed the Legacy Map (originally called the Success Map) back in 2008. I designed this tool to help my CEO clients and myself develop a one-page personal plan. This plan for them as an individual ran in parallel with a similar plan for their company — called the One Page Translator (OPT).
My business partners and I created the OPT for clients as a variation of Verne Harnish’s One Page Plan (OPP). Utilizing an OPP or OPT allows a company to develop a comprehensive, yet simple-to-use, strategic plan aligning the executive leadership team. Simply put, it gets everybody on the same page. Or to use an artistic metaphor, it gets them all playing from the same musical score.
Applying a Legacy Map
Learning to execute a personal plan of action and accountability (Legacy Map) makes a CEO a better overall leader. It literally forces them to think long-term, big-picture, and above all, exponentially. By the same token, once my CEO clients establish the Rockefeller Habits (and similar business rhythms), they become more valuable to their their families as well. Best of all, when I coach executives to execute their personal plan, they become more empathetic to the challenges their management team and employees face executing the company plan.
In Scaling Up, Verne Harnish writes that a CEO must master two critical skills: First is learning to delegate. Second is seeing into the future as far as possible — and then developing a compelling vision of what that future will look like.
Good leaders act as a catalyst for strategies and tactics that keep their team aligned and moving toward an envisioned future. The Legacy Map is similar — a personal strategy that articulates what the landmarks look like on an individual’s journey. Setting lifetime goals compels us to think exponentially about life. The Legacy Map process does this in multiple ways, including writing down an inspired envisioned future. Trust me, the importance of getting it on paper (in detail) goes far beyond merely setting a personal BHAG or stretch goal.
The Legacy Map Challenge
Today, I challenge you to articulate the realization of your life’s journey. Do it for your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren — to preserve how you created a life of contribution and meaning (while overcoming fears and self-doubt) to find your unique purpose. And do it for the betterment of mankind. We live in a time of unparalleled wealth and abundance. However, this prosperity has led to increased selfishness, greed, and insecurity. Ironically, all this financial success could hasten the breakdown of the very foundation that made the rise possible — the value and contribution of entrepreneurism.
I call on my peers to pick up the mantle of leadership and personal responsibility. Let us never be a burden on society. Let us never be viewed as an old, worn-out part that needs to be tossed aside. Instead, let’s be an inspiration to others!
Our actions, behavior, and mentoring will not only enrich our own lives, but have a positive, lasting impact on society. It was our “greatest generation” parents who saved democracy, freedom, and the way of life we enjoy. This sense of personal and societal responsibility was handed down to them from immigrant parents and grandparents who came in search of a better and more rewarding life.
I challenge my fellow entrepreneurs to create a legacy — and continue leading throughout our lifetimes. That’s the reason for creating a Legacy Map and the reason to Replace Retirement with Intentional Living.
Let’s be intentional and spend our time sharing, striving, and making a difference. The 71-year-old Kurzweil agrees, “What we spend our time on is the most important decision we make.”