Short-Term Memory Performance Reset
Release yesterday's win or loss and rebuild effort for the next period.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
After each meaningful result, acknowledge what happened without allowing it to define the next attempt. A failure should not follow the performer into the next call, while a success should be celebrated briefly and then released before it creates complacency. Reset attention to the new period, identify the actions required now, and aim to perform better than before. Kenerson applies this short-term-memory rule across individual calls and month-to-month production. The mechanism protects consistency from two opposite risks: discouragement after a poor outcome and reduced effort after a strong one. The output is a fresh performance standard for every new attempt.
Origin
Kevin Kenerson advised loan originators and entrepreneurs to use short-term memory after both successful and unsuccessful calls or months. Extracted from Coffeez for Closers.
Core principles
- 01Yesterday's failure should not contaminate the next attempt.
- 02Yesterday's success should not reduce today's effort.
- 03Celebrate a win briefly, then move past it.
- 04Each new period requires renewed focus on the work ahead.
How to run it
- 1
Acknowledge the result
Name whether the last call or period succeeded or failed. Capture any lesson that must inform the next attempt without carrying the result forward as an identity.
Pro tip Keep the review short enough that it does not become rumination or celebration that consumes the next period.
Watch out A reset is not permission to ignore a repeated process problem.
- 2
Release the last attempt
Move past the emotional effect of the outcome. Apply the same release to wins and losses so neither one controls the next effort.
- 3
Reset the target
Define what success requires in the next call, day, or month. Treat the new period as a fresh obligation rather than an extension of the last result.
Pro tip Reset to controllable actions as well as an outcome target.
- 4
Return to present action
Focus on what must be done now and execute without waiting for confidence from the previous result. Keep the next attempt independent of yesterday's mood.
Watch out Do not let a strong previous month justify lower activity in the current one.
- 5
Raise the next standard
Use the reset to pursue a stronger next period rather than merely repeating the previous one. Celebrate progress, then repeat the cycle.
Pro tip Compare periods after execution, not while the previous result is still shaping effort.
In the wild
Kenerson described entrepreneurs and loan originators having a great month, becoming caught up in that success, and then producing a poor following month. His rule is to celebrate the result, move past it, and focus on making the next month even better.
→ The prior win becomes a completed result rather than a reason to reduce the next month's effort.
A salesperson records why a prospect declined, makes the one useful adjustment, and closes the review. Before the next call, they set a fresh conversation target and avoid treating the previous rejection as evidence about the new prospect.
→ The salesperson learns from the loss without allowing it to contaminate the next attempt.
Common mistakes
Coasting after a win
Extended celebration can reduce the effort required to make the next period successful.
Carrying rejection forward
Treating the last failed call as a forecast for the next one weakens present attention and action.
Forgetting without learning
The reset should release the emotional result, not erase useful evidence about a recurring problem.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for salespeople and entrepreneurs whose results arrive through repeated calls, days, or monthly cycles.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when forgetting the past would mean ignoring a recurring failure that requires diagnosis and correction.
From the transcript
“you have to have short-term memory like you have to forget about what happened yesterday”
“you have to forget about that last call whether it was successful or not successful”
“forget about that success yes celebrate it but move past it”
From the episode
Lending a Hand ft. Kevin Kenerson
Kevin Kenerson