Reverse Engineering….

Here we are just a minute into 2018 and all the talk is still about goals and objectives. The internet is loaded with articles and stories about goal setting and offers abound for the “perfect” planning journal.

It’s a time of year I have come to cherish as the review and preview process creates a certain self-accountability that is unmatched.

Spending time reviewing achievements and failures from 2017 and focusing on the energy and excitement of what could be all create the feeling of possibility.

The very idea of a clean slate is enough to mobilize even the most doubtful and negative among us.

Let’s face it though, most people spend more time planning their two-week vacation then they do their business and personal agendas.

As a student of the game and after working with many individuals and organizations, I have come to notice one big miss when it comes to getting the most out of these efforts.

Here’s what I mean, you can drive all day, although if you don’t know where you are going, you will never get to where you want to go.

Imagine using the great app Waze (if you don’t use it, you should) and not putting in the destination?

Obviously, you would never get to where you wanted to go.

Get it?

In any planning or goal setting, just as in driving, the most important piece of information is not only the destination, it’s how to get there.

While everyone can visualize the finish line, they often miss the planning activities that align with the intended outcome.

There is a process I use when setting all of my goals and I call it “Reverse Engineering”

Reverse engineering, according to Wikipedia, is the processes of extracting knowledge or design information from a product and reproducing it or reproducing anything based on the extracted information.[1]:3 The process often involves disassembling and analyzing its components and workings in detail.

For me, Reverse Engineering is understanding that no matter where I want to go, no matter what I want to achieve, I start with disassembling and analyzing the finished product so that I can study the components in detail.

One of my 2017 goals was to publish my book. Now many have thought about writing a book and probably many have had it on their annual goal sheets. For me, I Reverse Engineered what actions it would take for me to publish the book by no later than June.

Once I had the destination, similar to when you plug the address into Waze, and it immediately draws a plan of left and right turns, I was able to figure out what the exact twist and turns I needed to do to get to my destination.

It works for everything in life, even if your goal is the common one to lose weight. Figure out what weight you want to be (the destination) then think in reverse the actions needed to get you there. Minute by minute, day by day, if your actions align, the goal is achievable.

Hope your 2018 is off to a great start and you know exactly where you are going and how you are going to get there.

And that’s what Nudelberg says...

Steve