We've been taught that strategy answers "what" and execution answers "how." But I think we've got it backwards. Strategy isn't about what you'll do. It's about how you'll win. The Gap We Create When we treat strategy as the "what," we end up with aspirations dressed...
Sometimes the thought of strategy work can be daunting. You haven’t created a strategy. You haven’t held a strategy role with a strategy title. You don’t consider yourself a strategic thinker. In fact, maybe that’s a label you don’t aspire to. Yet, we all work on...
One of the biggest reasons strategies fail is simple. We set the goal. We know the outcome we want. But we don’t connect the big picture to what happens day to day. That’s where lag measures and lead measures come in. Lag Measures = The Destination Lag measures are...
I listened to an episode of the Next Big Idea Club where they provided an overview of Jon Acuff’s latest book Procrastination Proof: Never Get Stuck Again. In this summary he covered his framework for getting things done and how each of us tends to get stuck in one of...
When I first started working in the early 1990s, the Franklin Planner was the go-to tool for staying organized. I loved picking out the size and cover. Each quarter, fresh pages felt like a reset button. A way to put structure around the chaos of work and life. The...
Over the last four years, I’ve written a lot about the hope equation. The formula by Charles Snyder that Hope = Goals + Willpower + Waypower. Many posts have supported setting goals, building motivation, and designing our Plan B. That’s why a phrase mentioned in a...
As you consider the remainder of the year, what do you hope for? What do you want to be true by December 31st that isn’t true today? You can make a list. Start to plan the tactics to achieve the goals. However, it’s equally important to consider what can go wrong....
There's a trend making its way through productivity and personal development circles. The "personal curriculum." This is a deliberate, self-directed approach to learning. Going beyond random book purchases and podcast scrolling. When I first heard the term, I had to...
Previously, I posted about the first phase of becoming a Me-EO. This first phase was all about becoming SAVVY about ourselves and our future vision. The second phase of a Me-EO life involves moving from vision to action. The acronym for this phase is GROWTH. I chose...
I am a planner. Plans never happen exactly as envisioned, but I’m conscious of what I want to accomplish. My process ties back to the Hope Equation by Charles Snyder: HOPE = Goals + Willpower (Motivation & Habits) + Waypower (Alternative Paths) Yet, I realize I...
Halfway Day is coming up next Thursday, July 2nd. The first half of the year will be behind us and we have half remaining. This is the perfect time to take pause, reflect, celebrate and set intentions. In order to take advantage of the day, it’s good to plan ahead....
This episode of Self-Improvement Daily mentioned the following quote: “Stop trying to prove yourself. Start trying to improve yourself. One keeps you stuck performing for other people. The other keeps you growing for yourself.” - Fio Bros The statement immediately...
On a recent episode of Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Gretchen & Liz discussed a “tripwire”. The classic definition or use of this term is a low-placed, concealed wire or device used to trigger a specific action, often a trap or alarm, when disturbed or moved. They...
With the first quarter coming to an end, it’s the perfect time to take stock of our goals. Check in on our accomplishments and celebrate the wins. Note what fell to the side and assess why those things didn’t happen. Maybe they weren’t a priority. Something was...
I had the opportunity to be part of an author talk with Dan Coyle, author of the newly published book Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning and Fulfillment. I reviewed the book a couple weeks ago and found the questions and conversations in the book talk to be equally...
Last week, I wrote about 7-year cycles and my experiences with them. The background of this idea ranges from philosophical to biological. The beauty of the cycles is that it suggests life is not one long beginning, middle, and end. Rather, we have multiple cycles of...
When we set goals, measurement often has us thinking about outcomes. We define what we want to achieve. Yet, the what typically doesn’t help us with the how. If we switch our perspective to process goals, we fill in the how. Outcome goals look like this: Write a book....
Throughout our lives, we all face forks in the road. Moments when we have a decision to make. One path vs. another. During these moments, those around us often have opinions. Go this way. It would be awesome. The decision is clear. However, that often isn’t the case....
We all have things we put off because the stakes feel too high. We don’t send a request because we are afraid of a “no”. We avoid the purchase of a piece of furniture because we fear it might not work in our space. A big one for me is something that I heard a...
Each year we have goals we want to achieve. At work, we often think about goals that are in the hands of other people. A promotion, a raise, a job change, etc. With these goals, we don’t control the outcome. I think a better question for the year is if we need to...
As the new year begins, we are thinking about our dreams and aspirations. Many of us will likely have a goal that rises above the others. The one we really want to obtain but aren’t sure it’s possible. The goal is daunting. So big we don’t even know where to start....