Hello and Happy Tin Can Day and Winnie the Pooh Day! And of course, Happy Martin Luther King Day. Does anyone remember the name of the British sitcom where an actor goes to an MLK audition dressed as the German priest Martin Luther? I don’t know why that cracks me up, but it just does…
Last week we talked about Systems of Thought. This week, let’s talk about systems of Execution, shall we?
Once you’ve figured out what your values are and you’ve written a Mission Statement (which I highly recommend), I assume you will have a big ole’ list of things you wanna do that’s swirling around in your head. That’s normal, but the trick is figuring out what to do with all those goals, how you want to achieve them, and in what order you want to tackle them.
I’ve learned there is a difference between goals, Actionable Items, and an Action Plan. Goals are the big things you want. Actionable Items are the little things you need to do to get those big things. An Action Plan is what you use to organize and track your Actionable Items. Once you’re able to internalize the difference, it becomes much easier to figure out what you want and how you are going to make it happen.
TIP OF THE WEEK: Here is a simple (well, not complicated anyway) three-step process to building a strong System of Execution.
1) Write down everything that you want and what you think you need to do to get what you want. Don’t worry about organizing or prioritizing anything, just stream-of-consciousness it. And don’t edit yourself! Write down EVERYTHING you want, no matter how trivial or grandiose.
2) Separate everything you wrote into two lists: Goals and Actionable Items. For example, a goal is “improve my home recording studio.” An Actionable Item is “research buying a new microphone.” Put the Actionable Items into chronological order. You’ll see why in a minute.
2A) (optional) What I do is break down my goals into the five categories of my business (thanks again, Dan Duckworth!): Cash Flow, Tools, Technique, Marketing, and Health. So on my list it would say “To improve my Cash Flow this year, I will…” and below that are all the Cash Flow-related goals for the year.
3) Build a Action Plan for next month and add whatever Actionable Items you think you can realistically get done during that month. If you did 2A, break down your Actionable Items into each of the five categories. Make sure you have at least one Actionable Item in each category so every facet of your business is worked on every month. You’ll be AMAZED at how much stuff you can get done!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
It’s up to you to say, ‘You know what? I’ve been carrying this bag enough. I’m gonna put it down. Jerry Seinfeld
STUFF!: Since the Patriots/Colts game was a blowout I flipped through the channels to see what else was on. For the first time I saw “Hot Fuzz“. Here’s the trailer. What a crazy fun movie! The really funny part for me was that we have the same plant. You know, the Peace Lily? I never knew what it was called and now I can finally keep it from getting all brown and whatnot.
From Tom Dheere’s apartment, this is Tom Dheere: GKN News…