While temporary failure has its benefits, permanent failure
can be devastating. Therefore, it is imperative to be able to learn lessons
from temporary set backs and avoid permanent failure. To do that, you have to
be clear about what you want to accomplish in your life, have a strategy/plan
to achieve it, train and prepare yourself for success, and take effective
action. Without those 4 steps, you are
can be devastating. Therefore, it is imperative to be able to learn lessons
from temporary set backs and avoid permanent failure. To do that, you have to
be clear about what you want to accomplish in your life, have a strategy/plan
to achieve it, train and prepare yourself for success, and take effective
action. Without those 4 steps, you are
a blind person feeling your way through
life with the hope of getting lucky. As Oprah says, “luck is when preparation
meets opportunity”.
Before you can prepare, it would be wise to do the
following:
following:
- Create a vision: In this stage, it is
helpful to have time alone. That way you can think about where you are in life, what you have done and where you would like to go. In the initial
stages of this step, it is better to ponder these thoughts without input
from others. It’s your life or career and you’re ultimately responsible for how it turns out. When you have time alone, it also allows you to
develop the appropriate mindset to move your life, career or business to
the next level. Furthermore,
in this step, it is not important to figure out how you will do it. In
fact, in many cases, trying to figure out how too soon can be discouraging.
- Create
a strategy: Once you have your goal
in mind, it will be useful to brainstorm with people you trust. Feedback
can help you uncover blind spots. And it can enhance your ability to be
honest about where you are in relation to the end game. When you do that,
you will able to acknowledge the gap between where you are and where you
want to be. If you understand what’s missing in the gap, you can
prioritize which tasks should be done sooner rather than later. If your
vision is big enough, it will stretch you beyond your normal capacity to
think and act. As a result, it will require many major steps as well as
intermediate efforts to fill the gap. Also, in this phase, you will have
to understand resources like time, money, people, materials, etc. How much
time will it take to achieve the goal? How much money will it take? What
kinds of people possess the skills and competencies to complement yours?
What materials are needed? How will you organize and allocate those
resources? What are the intermediate goals you have to accomplish to
fulfill the vision? Why is this goal relevant? Who are the stakeholders?
How will you include them when developing plans?
- Training and development: If you view yourself
as equivalent to a professional athlete, you understand no athlete makes
it the championship without preparation, training and constant practice.
Your life, business or career is no different. At this stage, you will
have to develop yourself. Whether you learn in a formal institution, with
a coach or on your own, this step is critical to avoid being unprepared.
- Action: Here is where you transform a plan into
reality. However, actions are most effective when done in time. Set
milestones for when tasks are to be completed. If you keep your vision in
mind, it will be easier to take focused actions without being mired in
busy work. Moreover, it is important to understand the outcomes you are
seeking with each action and how its completion contributes to the end
game.
Above all, be prepared to require more time and money than
you anticipated. Use each day and hour to advance yourself and others. At the
same time, periodically take a step back to examine if your goal is still
relevant to your stakeholders in the form you envisioned. If it isn’t, you may
have to alter the strategy. In the worst case, abandon the goal. Either way,
you can assess what you learned and decide which direction to take next.
you anticipated. Use each day and hour to advance yourself and others. At the
same time, periodically take a step back to examine if your goal is still
relevant to your stakeholders in the form you envisioned. If it isn’t, you may
have to alter the strategy. In the worst case, abandon the goal. Either way,
you can assess what you learned and decide which direction to take next.
As you work through each step, you will see, in most cases,
your vision is constant, your strategy will be altered, training never ends and
your action is the key that holds it all together.
your vision is constant, your strategy will be altered, training never ends and
your action is the key that holds it all together.
What do you think? I’m open to ideas. Or if you want to
write me about a specific topic, let me know.
write me about a specific topic, let me know.