My colleague, Erik and I were discussing strategy implementation and busy schedules. The issue was how to accomplish multiple goals with in a year with so many obligations, and so little time. Frankly, almost anyone, or any business can learn to function on this track as long as they are disciplined, honest with themselves, and strategic.
The late Stephen Haines stated in his book, Strategic and Systems Thinking: I Winning Formula that his Centre’s research has shown that many planning models have no ideal future vision as the place to start, only two out of fourteen had some kind of a measurement system to define success, over half of the models did not even link the plan to budgets, and none of them dealt with helping organize implementation.
A lot of this is not new to strategists. The real question is, in life and business, how to move “multiple game pieces” along without losing ground in any one. Here are some tips:
Personal life
- Losing half your life: The place to start is what you do for a living. So many people I know want to skip Monday- Wednesday at work. They live for Friday- Sunday. If you think about it, a person of this mindset will “gloss over” half their week and lose those valuable moments to achieve their strategic goals.
- Move the pieces forward in baby steps: Let’s say you want to read the Bible in one year. Take baby steps each day in a planned out strategy. Or, you may want to learn to play an instrument. Practice 20 minutes a day.
- Discipline: If you stay disciplined in your life, you can achieve quite a lot in just over a summer. The trick is to limit things that do not further your strategy like television, web browsing, and video games.
Business
- Think of your business as a life: Your business has a limited life. It may beyond your life, but some day it will end. This means that the sand is running out of the hour glass every day and anything that you do that is not implementing your strategy towards your vision is a negative. Every day wasted is a day lost. That lost time will not come back again.
- Think-Plan-Act-Measure-Adjust: The Association for Strategic Planning, of which I am a member, has Think-Plan-Act as their mantra. I am a little more descriptive by adding measure and adjust. Strategic Plans are not stagnant. They live an breath with your company. You must must make a deliberate effort (baby steps) every week to push towards that horizon that you have developed.
- Know Your Surroundings: When you hike in the forest, you should be aware of your surroundings. Wild animals could be lurking around any corner. This is true with business. Be aware of your changing industry. For businesses that deal internationally, that could be political and cultural changes. You cannot push toward your goal in a vacuum.
This, obviously, is not a complete formula for personal and business success. However, if you practice some of these points, you may find you (and your business) in a remarkable place twelve months from now.