If you are like 90% of people (including me), the changing of the calendar has inspired you to turn the page on some results that you’re less than proud of.

Whether resolutions are a good way to make a change (or not – this is something I will address in another post), there are definitely some pitfalls to be aware of, so you can at least improve the odds of succeeding at making some kind of change.

Here are ten issues to keep in mind as you move forward with your resolutions, your intentions, your goals, or however you define the lifestyle and business changes you really want:

1. Resolutions are made to “stop” or “lose” something

Succeeding with your resolution has a lot has to do with how you frame it. Resolutions (or goals) often have negative contexts to them, which is not so motivating, especially when the going gets tough. And we make them usually in areas of our life that are the result of habits built up over a lifetime (i.e. smoking, weight). When we say out loud that we want to “stop smoking” or “stop eating sweets”, the unconscious mind forgets the “stop” and focuses on the other part of the statement. That’s one important reason why we end up craving what we want to stop.

Solution: Instead of framing your goal as a loss or a sacrifice, express it as a “gain” or “start”. Make it something you want to run towards (“pull”) rather than running away from (“push”). Instead of “Stop eating sweets”, say “start eating more vegetables”. Instead of “lose weight”, say “gain muscle strength”.

2. The goal describes a result, without referencing the underlying behavior

Have you heard of the definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”? Many people state goals to lose weight or start a savings account, but are not willing to change what they do on a daily basis to create the new behaviour. By framing the goal as a change in behaviour, you have more control over the actual outcome.

Solution: Frame the goal as a change in behaviour. Instead of “lose weight”, say “go to the gym 4 mornings a week”

3. There is no consequence to abandoning the resolution or failing

If there is no consequence to abandoning the goal, why make it in the first place? What is the price you are paying to maintain the results you currently have in the area of your goal? Is the price high enough to force you to make a change? What is the reward for you to succeed? Does the reward outweigh the price? If not, then there is little motivation for you to change, and you will (consciously or unconsciously) abandon your goal.

Solution: Make the price of the status quo very high, or the reward very attractive. Set a special reward for yourself if you succeed in your goal, a trip, or gift, something that commemorates your achievement. Set it up in such a way that you only enjoy the reward if you succeed!

4. Resolutions are set at the last minute, without much thought

Resolutions set at the last minute, or without adequate consideration, are hard to take seriously. Sometimes, we make a goal because we “have” to, following the crowd or a fashion. You do not have to necessarily start your changes on January 1. If you are just starting to consider your goals, give yourself enough time to make sure that this is something you really want to do, for yourself.

5. The goal is vague

Vague goals are not motivating, and are a key reason why goals are abandoned. The more precise you are about your goal, the more likely you will succeed. Use the (Davenderized) “SMART” principle to test if your goal is precise enough:

• SPECIFIC – Describe the details of your goal (feel, taste, hear, smell, look)
• MEASURABLE – How much? How many? How will I know that I have reached my goal?
• ACTION-ORIENTED – Does the goal compel me to take action? Are the steps that I need to take clear? What actions will I take to reach this goal?
• RESOURCED – What resources (time, money, support, etc) do I need to achieve this?
• TIME-FRAMED – When will I make this happen? When will I start? When do I need to be complete?

6. The goal is too big

Many results in our life are the outcomes of lifelong habits. It is unrealistic to change many of them overnight. There is no such thing as an unrealistic goal, simply overambitious timetables. Make sure you give yourself challenging (but physically doable) goals and timelines. Use the concept of “milestones” (4-6 week intermediate goals) and “heartbeats” (daily intentions) to subdivide your large goal into doable smaller steps.

7. There is little or no support to carry out the goal

It is possible that you could make the change you intend to make happen by yourself, but why would you want to? A support system gives you the added edge you need to stay on track and do what you say you will do. Your support system should include active components (a buddy or partner, expert resources, support groups, mentor or role model, coach) and passive components (books, tapes, videos, magazines, pictures, treasure maps, affirmations, journaling, etc)

8. The goal is not written down

Spoken goals simply vanish with their echo. Write down your goal, and you are already half-way to making it happen, because you create accountability with yourself in doing so. Write down your goal with the “SMART” format listed earlier, and post it in a place where you can read it every morning. The strongest way to make this work for you is to write it in the form of a contract with yourself, signed and dated.

9. Success in the goal depends on someone else

Giving the power over the success of the goal over to someone else is a guarantee of failure. How can you change what you cannot control? Do you have control over the goal? A powerful test is to imagine yourself stranded on a desert island with all the resources and time you need. Could you make this goal happen totally on your own? For example: “Get promoted this year” is a poor formulation because you do not have control (usually) over your own promotion. A better way to phrase it is “Get the highest client satisfaction ranking”, which is something you have control over, and it can lead to your promotion, a raise, or other recognition.

10. There is no commitment behind the goal

Full commitment means more than just saying “I will do it”. You have to get clear on four questions: What do you want? Why is this important to you? Why is now the time to make this change happen? And, most importantly, why do you deserve this change? Exploring these questions with an experienced personal coach will help you align your commitment with your values, so that it becomes crystal clear to you why you need to make this goal real. Once you do so, then nothing can shake you off of your resolve. And next thing you know, your goal will have successfully become reality!

For more information

From Resolution to Result: Transform Your Good Intentions Into Real Results
Why do most resolutions fail? Do resolutions really work to create lasting change?
http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1689937

Image credit: Jesse Menn on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesse_menn/2156365871/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 license

(Article by Jean Racine, as published in QCTOnline.com)  – The Quebec English Speaking Toastmasters (QUEST) club is proud to announce that one of its members, Mr Davender Gupta, recently achieved the level of Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). In Toastmasters, the level of DTM is like a “PhD in communication and leadership”.

Davender achieved this qualification in only five years, committing himself fully to reaching this goal by being a member of two or three Toastmasters clubs at a time. He started his Toastmasters journey with the Club Toastmasters de Sainte-Foy (in French) in 2005, then joined QUEST in early 2006, of which he has been a member continuously since. Other clubs of which he was a member include Lévis and Optimates (French) as well as the Viewpoint (English) club in Beauport.

Davender has contributed to furthering the local Toastmasters movement by mentoring Quebec City’s first corporate Toastmasters club at Industrial Alliance, and contributing to the successful launch of the first Toastmasters club at Université Laval. He has served in several leadership positions such as Vice-President Education and Club President at QUEST, as well as Area Governor and Division Governor, responsible for the success of Toastmasters clubs in Quebec City, the Saguenay, the Beauce and Eastern Quebec.

The communication and leadership skills that Davender has developed in his quest for the DTM help him every day in his profession as a Business Leadership Coach and as an accomplished speaker and trainer. Davender is very active in the Quebec City business community as Secretary of the Board at the Centre local de développement (CLD) de Québec, as Past President of the Réseau META Québec-Lévis, and as an active member of the Quebec City Chamber of Commerce. Davender has also organized several business networking and learning events in Quebec City, in Montreal and elsewhere across Québec.

The Distinguished Toastmasters qualification requires that a Toastmaster deliver approximately 50 speeches, complete several leadership projects, and take on leadership roles at the Club and District level.

The QUEST Toastmasters Club is open to everyone and visitors are always welcome at the weekly breakfast meetings held on Friday mornings starting at 6:55 am, at Mikes Restaurant, 2960 boulevard Laurier, Sainte-Foy. For information, contact Sandra Holman- 418-573-1767, or Jean Racine- 418-623-0452

For more information

Image: Bobby Fielding

Original article on Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph Online (Dec 14, 2010):
http://www.qctonline.com/davender-gupta-achieves-distinguished-toastmaster

For a list of all Toastmasters clubs in Quebec City (Division I): http://www.toastmasters.org

For a list of all Toastmasters clubs in Quebec and Eastern Ontario (District 61): http://tm61.org

Main Toastmasters International site (info about Toastmasters and to find a club near you anywhere in the world):
http://www.toastmasters.org

To live in abundance doesn’t mean becoming a millionaire. The quest for gold impoverishes more souls than it enriches. It is about feeling the freedom to fully express who you are, to contribute your gift, to create connections around you which make people feel better about who they are. To make this happen, you don’t need as much money as you think – but you will need much more passion than you ever imagined.

For more information

Image: onkel_wart on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/onkel_wart/3507874422/
Used under a Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Is it a good idea to multitask? Studies of the impact of cell phone use on our ability to focus on complex tasks such as driving, operating machinery or walking, show that the brain does not multitask well at all – even if the inputs are being processed in different areas of the brain.

Juggling tasks that require cognitive, creative or problem-solving skills only aggravates the negative impacts of multitasking: reduced productivity and increased stress. If your work requires mental effort, and almost all modern jobs do, then it is essential to break the multitasking habit. Here are some ideas to help you reduce your multitasking, so you can be more focused and get more done:

1. Organize your day

Organize your day into focused blocks of ninety minutes to three hours of work, no less or no more. Choose a theme for each block: business development, problem-solving, administration, marketing, production, design, planning, etc. Group your tasks to execute on those relating to the theme during the allotted time block. If other ideas come up, have a little notebook handy to jot them down (the “idea parking lot”), then go back to what you were doing. You will find as time goes on you will experience fewer thought interruptions. Grouping your tasks into themes enables you to focus at peak efficiency.

2. Minimize context switching

We call it multitasking, but in reality it is time-slicing: focusing on one task for a moment then putting it on pause to switch to the other task. If the tasks are too dissimilar, it takes time for your brain to switch from one task to another. The context switching time can take anywhere from one minute to sixty minutes, depending on how focused, creative or analytical you need to be to carry out the task. This is why multitasking is not efficient. By grouping similar tasks together in themes, and executing each task in a serial order (one after the other), the context switching time between tasks is minimized and productivity soars.

3. Control external interruptions

Responding to external interruptions such as phone calls, e-mail or colleagues breaks your focus and triggers the context switching delay. Suppose your context switching time is five minutes for each interruption – this time quickly adds up! Let your voice mail answer your calls. Close your office door or put a “Do Not Disturb” sign. Discipline yourself to check and respond to e-mail and voice mail at most two or three times a day, outside of your focused working periods. This should be sufficient for even those who expect instantaneous responses to messages. You may need to reset the expectations of your co-workers or clients by letting them know at what times you are available to respond to calls, but they will appreciate your professionalism.

4. Create a space to focus

Space is an important element of focus. Create a physical work area distinct from your living area, so that when you go to your work area, it is a cue to your brain that you are now in work mode. Arrange your work area to minimize external distractions. I recommend wearing a pair of good quality noise-cancelling headphones, with or without appropriate music. Dressing up for your work periods, even when at home, is another powerful cue. I also have different places for different themes: client work is done in my home office, and creative work is done at a local coffee shop (where I wear my noise-cancelling headphones).

As you learn to break your multitasking tendencies and maximize your focus, you will minimize distractions, reduce context switching time, and get more done with less stress.

For more information

I originally posted this article on EzineArticles: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=4375260

An interesting article on multitasking in the journal of the American Psychological Association:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask.aspx

And from ArsTechnica.com:
http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2007/03/study-says-leave-the-multitasking-to-your-computer.ars

And why you shouldn’t text and walk (NYTimes.com):
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/business/25multi.html

Image credit: Ryan Ritchie on Flickr
Direct image link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryantron/4453018910/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

I remember how happy I was on my graduation from the Royal Military College of Canada. The double-major I chose had the heaviest course load of any program at my college, so each fall and spring exam session was a gruelling non-stop blur. I was so happy to never endure another exam for the rest of my life!

As I transitioned to my new career, that hope was somewhat dashed, but it wasn’t so bad. There were some tests, but nothing that really pushed me to my limits as did the exams I endured in college. And what tests I did have to take became fewer as I progressed in my career.

Our society is set up to minimize discomfort, but I’m not sure that it is necessarily a good thing. Without opportunities to measure our abilities, there is little incentive to further explore our potential. I’m grateful for not having to relive the pressure of test-taking like I had in college, but on the other hand, I miss the opportunity to measure my abilities and push myself to a new level of performance.

I believe it is important to proactively put challenges in front of oneself in order to provoke growth and development, before life imposes a test that one might not be ready to take.

I was fortunate in the early days of my career to surround myself with people who wanted to improve themselves on many levels. As the number of tests imposed on me by others declined, my friends encouraged me to start choosing other occasions to expand my experience of life. I took up running, which led me to start testing myself in 10km and marathon runs. Then I graduated to biathlons and triathlons. I didn’t win, but that was not the point. It was about besting my previous performances and discovering my other strengths.

Then during my masters degree, I discovered long distance cycle-touring, and I tested myself on a Seattle to San Francisco ride which helped me to redefine how I saw myself.  Moving to Western Canada, I discovered backcountry hiking and skiing, and two significant tests I fondly remember are hiking the West Coast Trail and traversing the Wapta Icefields. When I left the military, the tests I set for myself shifted to more spiritual and emotional pursuits, by taking the Context Associated series of courses and embarking on the path to becoming an assistant facilitator. Then there was my career change to become a coach, and the courses and experiences that I chose to undertake to develop myself on that new path.

And all during this time there were other lesser challenges that I gave myself that allowed me to explore my creativity, my analytical skills and my physical fitness.

What I notice is that each of these tests helped me to define who I am and what I’m capable of. The tests I chose for myself helped me to build my confidence and especially to help build my capacity to overcome the obstacles of everyday life.

As I reflect back on the tests I’ve set for myself over the years, I notice some elements that helped to make them a success for me. Therefore, here are some guidelines to help you choose a test that will help you to succeed:

1. Make it something that you choose to accomplish. Tests imposed by others are not as meaningful as ones that you choose of your own free will. It should be something meaningful to you, in alignment with your values, your passions, your strengths and your goals.

2. It is focused on a particular date and time. Nothing focuses the mind like a deadline.

3. It sets a high-water mark of your capabilities. Choose or establish a test that causes you to stretch yourself in an area of your life that you want to improve.

4. It inspires confidence in yourself. Completing this test makes you proud, building your confidence in all areas of your life.

5. Preparing for it helps you establish positive rituals in your life. Select a test that requires discipline and endurance as you prepare for it. The longer you need to prepare (between three to twelve months), the better the positive changes you can create for yourself.

6. It is something special. Your test should be something out of the ordinary, which creates positive memories and from which you can extract valuable life experiences. By selecting a positive event, you can share it with others and even inspire other people to complete it.

7. It is something that you win just by participating. Avoid a pass/fail or win/lose test.

8. It tests one or more of the dimensions of living. A test does not only have to be a physical or a mental feat. Consider how it expands your emotional and spiritual ways of being.

During the last couple of years, my annual test was to complete a half-marathon (21km) race at the end of each summer. In 2006 and 2007 my focus was the Demi-marathon des Deux-Rives here in Quebec City, and in 2008 I completed the Toronto Half-Marathon. Various other tests I have given myself were to participate in a silent retreat, compete in Toastmasters public speaking contests and taking on leadership roles in community organizations.

But in 2009 life took over and I did not plan or prepare for a half-marathon, which caused me to set aside my personal fitness habits. I believe that by not testing myself, I allowed my physical and mental health to decline, and given the challenges I had to face in the following months, it was a contributing factor to my burnout experience this past spring.

By choosing tests that challenge us to stretch our abilities, we become better equipped to face the peak demands of everyday life. Well-chosen challenges help to develop the reserves and strengthen our confidence and our courage to transform the status-quo around us.

I strongly suggest that you take time right now to choose a test of your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual fitness, something that you will complete in the next twelve months. Use this opportunity to measure your mettle. Then when life decides to impose her trials upon you, you will be up to the challenge and pass with honors.

For more information

Image credit: Image by sashamd on Flickr.
Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sashamd/132071876/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 license

Let’s face it – you have to be insane to leave the world of the employed and choose the path of starting your own business. The uncertainty of where your next paycheck will come from. The constant marketing and self-promotion. Always sporting a happy face at 7am or 5pm, even if you don’t want to be at that networking event. The paperwork, the financial risk, the lack of structure, support and security. How does one do it?

If there is one thing you can count on in these uncertain times is that you can count on nothing except yourself. I’m not saying to trust no one, what I mean is that we are living in a time of accelerating change. What you can count on is that the way things are now can change in an instant. I sensed this in my own life fifteen years ago when I stepped out of the career track and into self-employment, and I feel the pace of change accelerating exponentially from year to year. So how to move forward without losing your way?

Being self-employed means being able to let go of the orderliness of knowing what you are going to do today, this week, a month from now, five years from now. Because most likely something will pop up today that could have the ability to completely change your life: a new client, a new opportunity, or a new situation, bad or good, within your control or outside of it.

The responsible thing to do is to earn a living. There are far easier ways of doing so than being self-employed.

A couple of years ago I was attracted to an amazing woman who had a couple of university degrees and could speak at least four languages quite fluently. She had beauty and brains. (I love smart women!) But her problem is that she had a very difficult time finding a job, because she was frankly over-qualified for most of what is out there. When I met her, and as she got to know me, she decided to try the self-employed route and set herself up as a consultant in her field.

Unfortunately she did not get far, and I quickly realized why: she was looking for stability and certainty in a lifestyle where there is none.

As a solopreneur, we want to know that someone will buy what we offer, that all this effort and money and time that we devote to our business will transform itself into an income stream that provides some security. The insane part of this pipe dream is that we know that this is a fairy tale, that there is no security to be found in self-employment. Yet we persist as if it were true. Yes, that’s insane.

The only certainty you can cling to is the belief in your personal vision, your own purpose, your drive to change the world and shape it in your own image. Without this missionary zeal for what you do, you can’t move forward. You need to be an evangelist for your vision, to detach from reality and to create a Jobsian “Reality Distortion Field” where everything about what you do is incredible, awesome, great, cool, outstanding, world-changing, fantastic, amazing, beautiful, unbelievable…

Put two equally qualified service providers side by side, and I bet the one who succeeds is the one with that delightfully insane passion for what he does. A person I know loves his work and is good at it, but he has trouble getting and keeping clients. It’s not his competence, it’s that he doesn’t fully believe in himself as a solopreneur. Every few months he starts asking around for job openings. He may be the greatest at what he does, but would I entrust an important project to him if I doubt that he may not be there in a couple of months because he has found a job?

To be a solopreneur, you can’t keep a Plan B. You have to burn the boats and look only forward. Act as if success is inevitable and that it is your birthright. It’s insane, but it works.

The only thing certain in this life is death. Between now and then, shouldn’t you do everything you can to express your full potential to make a positive difference in the world?

For more information

Steve Jobs and his Reality Distortion Field:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx7v815bYUw

A moving commencement speech by Steve Jobs at Stanford, 2005: “How to live before you die”
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

Image Credit: Photo by Abby Chicken on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/redbettyblack/10241646/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

We are programmed from an early age to think: “If I just work harder, I can reach my goals faster.” This attitude is reflected in Daft Punk’s hit “Harder Faster Better Stronger”:

Work It. Make It. Do It. Makes Us
Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.
Work it harder, make it better,
Do it faster, makes us stronger
More than ever hour after
Our work is never over

But what if this belief is false? What if working harder, instead of making my results happen faster, just contributes to burn out?

Does turning the thermostat all the way up make the room heat up faster? So why would just “working harder” accelerate success?

My realization is that I should “work smarter”: find the right level of effort that yields the best results. And take care of myself better so I can build a stronger personal foundation to support results that last longer.

For more information

Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cYWfq–Nw

Official video (non-embeddable): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgBgnoEY4iM

Daft Punk: http://www.daftpunk.com

Daft Punk on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk

Low-level anxiety about the future is an insidious form of stress that can sap your confidence just like a slow leak in your car’s radiator compromises the engine’s power. However, not knowing is a normal part of life. At the extreme, we do not usually know when or how we will die, yet few of us obsess about that. Instead, we waste precious mental cycles and heartbeats worrying about little things outside of our control, over which we crave an unattainable certainty.

A professional driver checks his car’s tire pressure, fluid levels, belts, hoses and lights before he sets out for a day of driving. You can also take control of these confidence leaks and restore your mental and emotional energy by performing this ten-point inspection on a daily basis.

1. Check your clarity

The main cause for worrying about success is not being clear on what success looks, sounds, tastes, smells and feels like. What do you really want? Is your desired outcome defined using the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Audacious, Real, Time-bound)? The more clarity you have about what you want, the more likely you will get it, since every interim result gives you information you need to adjust your course and steer towards success.

2. Check your environment

Does your environment support the results that you want? Are you letting the media’s negative messages distract you (advertising, news, junk entertainment)? Are you surrounding yourself with positive reminders of the future that you want? Do you have systems in place to take care of the niggly details (“date it, delegate it, dump it or do it”)?

3. Check your boundaries

Are you clear about what you will and will not accept from others? Are you letting other people’s priorities, anxieties and dramas influence your well-being?

4. Check your commitment

How strongly aligned is the outcome you want with your personal values and priorities? Do you want this because of you, or because of pressure from someone else? Can you clearly answer the questions “Why this? Why now? Why me?”

5. Check your reserves

Do you have the resources, knowledge, time and money to make this happen? If not, what do you need to do right now to build up your reserves?

6. Check your results

Where are you at right now? Get real. Tell the truth. Create numerical indicators for your progress. Imagine driving a car without a working fuel gauge – how would you know when you would be running out of gas? I find that the principal source of money anxiety is not having a clear idea of your current financial status – simply updating your Quicken files on a daily basis provides a significant calming effect, even if the current financial picture is bad. Create a “dashboard” of indicators to monitor your current situation.

7. Check your support

Do you have a support network in place to guide you? A strong coach, friends, colleagues, a sympathetic ear, an accountability Power Circle, a mentor, an advisory board? Are you using them?

8. Check your self-care

Confidence is your ability to feel good about yourself in any situation. Are you taking care of yourself? Are you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually active? Are you feeding your body high-grade fuel instead of junk food?

9. Check your actions

Are you stuck in analysis paralysis, or are you taking action? What one heartbeat (“baby-step”) will you take today that will successful bring you one small step closer to the result that you want?

10. Check your clarity, again

If the answers to all of the above are positive, and you still feel anxious, check again: WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT?

For more information

This is an updated version of an article I originally wrote back in 2004

Image Credit: Nacmias Auto on Flickr. Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nacmiasmobil/3660893908 Used under Creative Commons Licence http://www.flickr.com/photos/nacmiasmobil/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

What does the word “tactical” mean to you? It might conjure up images of heavily armed soldiers storming a building, a swarm of tanks overrunning enemy defenses, a squadron of aircraft dueling it out over the English channel. Tactics rhymes with execution, punch, getting things done.

Are you thinking tactically enough to win?

Most entrepreneurs have a big-picture idea of what they want, recorded in a business plan or vision document or a simple list of goals. But then the document stays in a drawer or on the hard drive as they stumble into reactive mode, day after day, and not accomplishing what they initially said they wanted.

Planning requires two levels of thinking: strategic and tactical. Strategic planning is vision-focused, the “who am I”, “what do I want to create” and “why is this important to me”.  Strategic is longer term, one, three, five, ten years out. Strategic planning is important, because it gives a context and a purpose for action.

Tactical planning is goal-focused, the “how“, the detailed actions needed to move the yardstick forward toward the big vision.

Where the strategic plan can be done in the abstract, because it deals with possibilities and assumptions, the tactical plan is how we dance with reality, respond to the actual situation on the ground, execute to create results. Tactical plans are meant to be short term: created quickly, executed boldly, then superseded by the next tactical plan based on the new situation. Rapid execution of a succession of tactical plans moves you step by step towards realizing the overall strategic plan.

For the entrepreneur, thinking tactically means creating a daily, execution-focused, tactical plan.

When I attended the Canadian Forces Staff School course in the early ’90s as a junior Air Force captain, I learned how to prepare a tactical mission plan, using an acronym I still remember today: SMEACS. Applied to your daily tactical plan, this means:

• S = Situation: What is my current status with respect to today’s operation? (the starting point)
• M = Mission: What is the Specific/Measurable/Audacious/Real/Time-lined (SMART) goal I must achieve today? (the result)
• E = Execution: What are the tasks and steps that need to be completed to get it done? When will I do this (put in today’s calendar)
• A = Administration/Logistics: What resources (tools, supplies) do I need to get it done? Where do I get these resources? How much money/time will I need to get them?
• C = Command: Who do I need to connect with to get it done?  (collaboration, authorization, support, accountability)
• S = Signal: Who do I need to communicate with to get it done?  (E-mails, telephone calls, letters)

To think tactical, focus on one primary project where you want to create a measurable result in the next 24 hours. Draw up a simple tactical plan in point form using the SMEACS format, so it is easy to keep in your head or on a single piece of paper.

For example, let’s say that my Strategic focus at the moment is to write my book. Today’s Tactical plan would be:

• S = Situation: I’m now at Chapter Two of my Ten-Chapter manuscript.
• M = Mission: Today’s mission is to create a rough draft in point form of Chapter Two in the next 24 hours.
• E = Execution: 1. Make a list of two dozen sub-points I want to include in the chapter; 2. reorganize into eight major points; 3. complete each major point by breaking it down into ten to twelve sub-points; 4. post it on the wiki; 5. dedicated writing times today: 9am to 10:30am (eight major points) and 8pm to 10pm (expanded sub-points)
• A = Administration/Logistics: 1. Make sure laptop is charged up and backed up before starting; 2. morning session at Starbucks after spin class, evening session at home (wash dishes first).
• C = Command: 1. coordinate with Thomas for a brainstorming call (suggest 9am).
• S = Signal: 1. confirm with Annie for feedback from Chapter 1 (e-mail); 2. send note to Mastermind group after morning and evening sessions informing that the wiki is updated.

As you execute your tactical plan, you will find that instead of feeling that you are running around in circles reacting to your environment, you will now be in control, act more deliberately, and get much more done. Being tactical puts you in charge of the momentum.

Strategy points you in the right direction. Tactics ensures you do the right things right now, so you can win at creating the future you really want.

For more information

This post was inspired by  ”Rip Up Your Five-Year Plan” by Ian Sanders, BNET Insight http://blogs.bnet.com/smb/?p=145

Image Credit: Tactical Bacon is a real product! Image from http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/wacky-edibles/c399/

Why is it so tempting to procrastinate when faced with an otherwise simple task? Even if you have the skills, knowledge, experience, resources and even a great motivation to accomplish the task, there is something that can sabotage your best intentions, and before you know it, there goes another blown promise or missed deadline…

The culprit lies within the deepest recesses of our brain, in a primitive organ – the amygdala. This “lizard brain” is the centre of our basic emotions: fear, anger and sexual desire.

If fear exists is because it the amygdala senses a threat to our survival. Since the beginning of evolution, our natural fear reflex helped us to either avoid or react to the often fatal dangers we faced.  But does this visceral reaction still serve us well in our modern environment?

Consider the to-do list of the solopreneur. Instead of sabre-toothed tigers, what do we avoid out of fear? Tax returns, sending invoices or making payments, calling a client, going to a networking event … Objectively, none of these situations is potentially lethal, but something triggers the lizard brain, flooding the conscious brain with its fear response.

Afraid of what, exactly? The lizard brain does not like the unknown. Taking risks is anathema to the amygdala, because it seeks security in the known, the comfortable, the familiar. So, whenever there is uncertainty, the lizard brain triggers the flight reaction.

For me, I notice that my lizard brain is in full control of me when all of a sudden I’m sleepy in the middle of the day. Another symptom is a tension in my legs, as if I had to flee quickly. And the third element of evidence for me is a sudden desire to eat, especially something sweet.

The fatigue, the desire to flee and sugar are avoidance behaviors that tell me that my “lizard brain” is dominating my thinking. I can be totally aware this is happening, but I’m powerless to do anything about about it, because I’ve let myself become a spectator to my primitive self…

But is it true that I’m powerless? What can I do to dominate the fear response and regain control, so I can overcome the block and create the results I want?

A simple approach is to ensure to reduce or avoid the unknown or the uncertainties. Remove the risk, and the lizard brain goes back to sleep. Here is a simple strategy to do it:

1. Take the time to create a blueprint to guide you through the task. This blueprint should break the big task into smaller pieces, doable in 15 to 30 minutes each. Reducing the size of the actions reduces the uncertainty, because it is easier to see to the other side of the task.  In addition, a detailed plan provides allows the emotional brain to “rehearse success” – quelling the fear response and giving room to the logical mind so it can take control, even briefly.

2. Do one small action at a time, according to a precise schedule. Each action should be scheduled in the calendar, and rigidly controlled in time: do not take more that 15 to 30 minutes for the mini-task. When the action is done, move on to something else that is not as “difficult” to do.

3. Celebrate progress. Whenever you have done the action step, give you a small reward – something you love. But make sure your rewards do not become a distraction!

For example, if the “impossible” task is writing a blog entry, my plan is:

a. do a brainstorming of topics and write them in a list, without prioritizing. No ideas what to write? Surf on over to your favorite blogs and write down the subjects of the last four or five posts without necessarily reading the whole text. Don’t worry, this is allowed and even encouraged, as long as you refer back to the post that inspires you.
b. choose two or three of these subjects and break each one down four or five points for each subject – whatever comes to mind. If nothing comes to mind, move to the next subject.
c. choose one of these expanded topics, and for each point, write two or three sub-points
d. you now have a good outline for your post. Link the sub-points together and it’s done!

Allocate 15 to 30 minutes for each action, and the space them out by one to two hours during the day – this is how I wrote this note starting in the morning from a blank screen.

Whatever task you’re trying to avoid out of fear, remember: it doesn’t need to be perfect – it just needs to be done.

And the more you get used to producing, the more comfortable it gets for your lizard brain. Your task moves from the unknown into your comfort zone.

Remember that your lizard brain thrives on fear. Learn to side-step it and you will become a better producer – and you will be better able to create the future you really want!

For more information

Inspired by a note from Seth Godin
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/01/quieting-the-lizard-brain.html

This idea appears to be part of Seth Godin’s new book “Linchpin: Are You Indispensible?” http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/dp/1591843162 (no affiliate)

Photo credit: Image by lostartist on Flickr . Use permitted by Creative Commons CC BY-ND 2.0

Do you have a task that you’ve been procrastinating on, one that gets bigger every day even though you’re trying to ignore it? I usually have a couple of those on my list. These are tasks that I’m dreading for one reason or another: tediousness, refusal to face the truth, fear, shame…

The more I try to push these tasks to the future, the bigger they get, to the point that just resisting them is sapping my energy and blocking my ability to spot and respond to other opportunities.

So it’s time to do something about it.  

Mark Twain, that great philosopher-sage, said “If you eat a frog first thing in the morning, the rest of your day will be wonderful.”  This is the premise behind a delightful little book by Brian Tracy, called “Eat That Frog“. This book, which I highly recommend (even if you are not procrastinating on anything at the moment), provides a simple process to blast through procrastination: imagine the yukky task as an ugly frog that you must first eat before you can enjoy doing other things.

I’ve taken to call the tasks I’m procrastinating on my “Ugly Frogs” (UF).  UFs are things that only I can do (what’s left after the delegating and dumping), but I am loathe to get started on for any real or imagined reason. And it’s usually the latter. By identifying the UF, I can then go through a process to help me break it down into bite-sized pieces so that I swallow the whole darn thing…and therefore get it off my plate.

I’m currently implementing this idea in my weekly planning by asking myself the following questions:

1. What is an important task that I’m procrastinating on which is draining my energy and stopping me from moving forward? (This task must be on a critical path for my most important priority at the moment)

2. How can I break this task down into three to five sub-tasks that take between 30 minutes to no more than two hours each to complete? (An ugly frog is easier to swallow if I first cut it up into smaller pieces)

3. On what days this week will I accomplish each one of those tasks? (Schedule the day, and if possible, the time)

4. With whom shall I share this commitment to help me be accountable? (I find an accountability buddy to be invaluable in making sure I finish my plate)

Sometimes you might not get through the whole UF in one week, but can get far enough that there may be one or two sub-tasks left. If so, try to schedule them at the beginning of the following week so that the whole task is done, or if this is not possible, make sure you schedule them now so that you complete them as soon as possible.  Or maybe my UF is too big, like two frogs stuck together. Then the idea is to separate the tasks to make them more manageable. With practice you will learn what are reasonable task sizes and timelines for you, depending on your workload.

Even with this preparation, the actual eating of the Ugly Frog can still be distasteful, stressful, even nauseating.  I’ve had tasks that needed to be done that would take someone else maybe 20 minutes or so, but take me two hours because it feels like I’m moving through cold molasses. Hang in there, gut it out. You know that it will be over in at most two hours. This is where the accountability buddy is so valuable, for encouragement or simply someone to whine to…but make sure that your buddy won’t let you off the hook!

Brian Tracy explains more thoroughly this process of breaking through procrastination. Don’t delay, get it now, read it now and do it now.

Don’t stare too long at that Ugly Frog. Just pick up your knife and your fork and get at it, so you can move on to the dessert!

For more information

Read: “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy  Amazon.com link (no affiliate): http://www.amazon.com/Eat-That-Frog-Great-Procrastinating/dp/1576754227

Photo credit: Photo by wahoowins on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licence CC BY-ND 2.0

So it’s a New Year, but how are you going to make this different then the old one? Here are three ideas to help you make this year your best ever!

For more information:

Link to this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBAMjY2vHto

My YouTube channel (includes my videos and other “favorites”):
http://www.youtube.com/coachdavender

During a coaching session on focus and purpose, our discussion lead to Jim Collins‘ idea of  a “Hedgehog Concept“, as described in his classic book “Good to Great“.

The name “Hedgehog” comes from Isaiah Berlin‘s essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox“, the title is based upon an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” And to build a business that lasts, you need to be the best at One Big Thing.

So what is it, your One Big Thing?

To get at the answer, Jim Collins suggests “Three Questions“, which I rephrase and reorder to align with how I coach this concept:

1. What is the One Big Thing you most passionate about?

What is the change that you most want to see in the world, something that you are willing to commit your resources, your time, your life to making happen? Then the second part of this is: Why is this important to you *and* to others? The answer to this question becomes your manifesto, the declaration of who you are and the legacy you are creating. (Read how to write a manifesto here: http://is.gd/jUYo )

You will know that you have a great answer to this first question when you share your manifesto with others and they see you as a leader instead of a mere service provider.

2. What is the One Big Thing you are best in the world at doing?

How I coach this question, is to focus on describing the compelling, lasting impact that you make with your clients, an impact that is memorable and important for the client. And you should be the best in the world at doing this (or at least the best in your world of people who know you!). Remember that the real question behind this question is not “what do you do”, but rather “what do you do for them” (your clients).

To really nail the answer to this question, talk to your clients. Get them to describe, in their words, their impressions of the impact you have created for them. Focus on the qualitative (emotions, feelings) as well as the quantitative.

When you have completed this step, you should have a short, compelling “tag line” that encapsulates the most significant impact your create for your client.

3. “What drives your economic engine”?

Your answer to this specific question that Jim Collins asks, provides the bridge between the results you promise and the results your clients get. Here you describe the activities, products and services. Check to make sure each offer you make focuses on expressing the first two questions: that every product and service builds towards the compelling change you wish to see in the world (question 1) by helping clients experience the impact you are best in the world at creating (question 2).

The more you focus your products and services to align with your answers to questions 1 and 2, the more valuable your offers become to your clients, and the more time, effort and money they will be ready to commit to what you offer.

What is my (Davender’s) One Big Thing?
(question 1): I believe that entrepreneurship is the key to creating and implementing the positive change that humanity needs in order to get out of the economic, environmental and spiritual mess we find ourselves in at the moment. This is necessary to build a strong foundation for a prosperous and successful 21st Century

(question 2): I Guide People With Big Dreams To Power Their Vision From Passion to Profit. I build 21st Century Leaders.

(question 3): And I do this by offering coaching and learning opportunities that push my clients to go beyond their comfort zone and What I do is to help people make the transition from a dependent “employee” mindset to a confident “entrepreneur” way of thinking, acting and being.

Imagine having this level of clarity – what kind of clients would you attract, and results could you create with them?

For more information

Jim Collins’ mini-site about the Hedgehog Concept:
http://www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/hedgehog-concept.html

The book “Good To Great”
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Companies-Leap-Others/dp/0066620996/

Jim Collins’ web site
http://www.jimcollins.com/

Image: Adam Foster on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paperpariah/4301471586
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

This post was originally published on Feb 17 2009 and updated on November 30 2010.

Susan Scott, on her FierceBlog, asks this intriguing question:

“Imagine that you had the complete, avid attention of every person on this planet for thirty seconds. What would you say?”

Do you know what your message is? Are you integrating it into everything that you do, that you offer, that you say, that you make, and who you are?

Leaders know with an unswerving certainty what their message is. Their message is an expression of their Mission (who they are), their Vision (the impact they are meant to create in the world) and their Permission (their strengths, talents and abilities that enable them to execute).

Leadership is about creating a positive impact around oneself that changes the status-quo, in alignment with one’s Mission, Vision and Permission. Gandhi said it so well: “Be the change you wish to see in the world“.

Somewhere, out there, someone is listening with “complete, avid attention” for the message you were born to communicate, for the lesson you were born to teach, for the change you wish to see. Is your message loud and clear, so they can hear it, feel it, experience it?

We each have a message to bring to the world, an important piece of the puzzle that is life. You get one chance to state your case, this one chance being your lifetime. Once you’re gone, that’s it, the song is lost.

Get clear about your Life Message. Build a Big Project around it: that is your real business. People don’t just buy your products and services, they want to create a personal connection with you… to experience the change you wish to create in the world.

Now that I am getting clear on my message, what drives me forward each day is this realization that time is ticking and there is so much to do to make sure my message is heard by as many people as possible…

Think Big… and act even Bigger…

For more information

Image: Amarand Agasi on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theamarand/2743204366/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence