The journey to getting what you want requires clear thinking, a strategy, a roadmap, and action. To kick-start your progress, here's my step-by-step approach for getting what you really want from your business.
Step 1: What do you WANT?
You can't go on a trip without a destination. Where do you want to go? What does a great business look like to you? Define your ideal outcome before you start thinking about how you’ll get there. I've seen it time and again - those who start with the “how” instead of the goal fall short of their true potential. Start in the possibilities and envision where you want to be. Picture your business, personal, and financial life in their ideal state. Now, answer these 2 key questions:
- How much money are you making?
- How much time off are you enjoying?
Step 2: Assess Your Current Reality
Now, let's ground those dreams in reality. Assess where you stand in your business, personal well-being, and finances. This step isn’t about throwing roadblocks at your vision – it's about understanding your starting point. This snapshot serves as your baseline, empowering you to make informed decisions and identify areas for improvement. It's a reality check that propels you toward success.
Step 3: Set Outcome-driven Goals
Goals shouldn't be just benchmarks – they should lead to the ultimate outcome you want. This is a big deal – goals without clear outcomes are much harder to implement and can kill your motivation over time. This isn't about simply achieving. It's about achieving what matters to
you. Goals are the milestones of your journey and they should be measurable.
Step 4: Create a Strategic Action Plan
Setting goals is only part of the equation. To turn your vision into reality, a well-thought-out action plan is essential. Reverse-engineer backwards from your goals to develop a detailed plan, breaking down the steps required to achieve each one. This plan becomes the blueprint for your journey, guiding you through the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual "to-dos" necessary for success.
Step 5: Focus on Execution and Accountability
Executing your plan is where the magic happens. It's about taking action consistently, facing challenges head-on, and making progress every day. Cultivate habits and strategies that support your action plan - like 90-Day Sprints - ensuring you make progress daily. Change is often harder than you think it will be - it's easy to get distracted by the day-to-day. Make it easier by getting a trusted advisor to provide perspective and hold you accountable.
Step 6: Track Your Progress
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” - Peter Drucker
Choose KPIs that match your goals. Set up a progress dashboard and monitor it regularly. Knowing your numbers will give you objective feedback on your performance and help you make better decisions.
Step 7: Adapt and Revise
Change is inevitable. Think of your strategic plan as a living, breathing document that requires regular updating. Things beyond your control will happen, and you need to be prepared to adjust. It’s important to adapt not only to changes in the world, but also changes within yourself, revising your plan as needed. It's all about staying true to your vision while being flexible enough to seize new opportunities.
Step 8: Get Out of the Middle
You won't reach big goals if everything in your business needs to be done by you or go through you. Decentralize and delegate. Empower your team to work within their own areas of genius, creating a collaborative environment where everyone contributes to collective success.
You can reach bigger goals, make more money, and get your time back
Follow the steps above and you can do it faster than you ever imagined.