Instead of New Year’s Resolutions … what to do instead to create powerful results
High performers don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Why would they? According to at least one study, 92% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Making a New Year’s resolution to try to solve a problem you haven’t been able to solve, is about as effective as taking Ex-Lax to … treat diarrhea!
The power of intention combined with committed action.
Instead of resolutions, high performers use the power of intention, combined with committed action, to achieve amazing results. They develop plans for success and the fresh start of a new year is the perfect time.
Now is success planning time! Late December and early January are planning time, the beginning of your 2014 success. Planning defines what you want most and the steps you’ll need to accomplish it. Making your intentions clear, as well as committing to taking the actions necessary to complete your intentions, will give you a strong start to having a great year.
Planning is necessary for both individuals and organizations.
Everyone who engages in my high-performance coaching develops a personal and professional success plan. It’s our starting point. If they are leading an organization or team, they will also develop a business or strategic plan for it.
A great success. Kelby Zorgdrager, CEO of DevelopIntelligence, planned well, executed his plan with precision, and eliminated the fears and beliefs that held him back. He stated:
“For several years, I was a struggling entrepreneur with a dream of building a company, but it was just me. Like most entrepreneurs, I lived in a lot of fear, uncertainty and confusion. The coaching and guidance I received allowed me to transform DevelopIntelligence from a struggling learning services company into a rapidly growing organization, which has been one of the Mercury 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Colorado two years in a row.”
Kelby has become a Fearless Leader™ and has much to be proud of!
Nine planning success factors.
I’ve facilitated individual success plans and strategic plans for small- and mid-sized businesses for 27 years. Beyond the readily available planning basics, there are nine factors that will maximize your individual or organizational planning success:
The best plans:
- Are built on strengths. They’re built on your, or your team’s, strengths.
- Serve the best market. The best market (including a job, for an individual) lies at the intersection of your strengths, passions, competencies and what the market will pay the most for.
- Eliminate success busters. Fear, destructive beliefs, ineffective systems, bad environments or a dysfunctional family or business culture can prevent success. But once you identify these problem areas, you can resolve, or account for them in your strategies.
- Inspire with a compelling vision. A vision is the ideal future state at a precisely determined time. If your vision doesn’t excite you and those around you, then you need a different vision.
- Contain three to six key success factors. Your vision will have three to six key success factors (also called key performance indicators). Each key success factor has an action plan on how to accomplish it.
- Create individual ownership. In organizations, one person—not a team—has ultimate ownership of each goal’s success. I’ve seen this be a positive game-changer in many companies when it’s instituted. For your individual plan, you own them all!
- Use milestones. Chunk your large goals into smaller, more readily doable, milestones.
- Employ timelines. All milestones need defined, realistic, and challenging completion dates.
- Utilize positive accountability. In my experience accountability to a plan increases productivity by about 30% and high performers love positive accountability. In my Fearless Leaders Forums for entrepreneurs, each plan incorporates monthly, quarterly and annual accountability. Further, each entrepreneur also has an accountability partner in the forum they report weekly progress to. Individual coaching incorporates accountability in each. I love the positive accountability of each session because I get to celebrate my clients’ successes with them. Positive accountability is positively energizing (for both of us)!
Everyone’s busy these days, but are you busy doing the right things? Not everyone attains his or her vision and dreams. If you want success, you need to be laser-focused on the right thoughts, emotions and activities.
A vision without action is a daydream.
Action without a vision is a nightmare!
Great results can be your reality. Get 2014 off to a great start. Start strong and stay strong, with clear intentions and a committed action plan to achieve exactly what you want!
Happy New Year!
