Three Simple Strategies to Achieving A Big Goal

When you find yourself at the end of the slick, wooden lane with 10 perfectly placed bowling pins in front of you, what do you think about? If you’re focused, you’re looking at that front pin, the head pin, and that small gap between it and the pin behind it. You’re figuring how to stand, how to grip the ball, and the movement of your arm so that you can strategically go for the strike.

Sometimes, the smell of warm hot dogs and a whiff of cold beer distracts you from the task at hand. Other times, your attention diverts to the lane next to you as the bowler gets his first strike and rejoices. And sometimes you stand there wondering if you look funny in the shoes or if you’ll be able to release the ball properly.

Working toward something is difficult because you have so many things to do and so many people making demands. You know the saying, “stay in your lane?” While sometimes a negative way of being told to stay out of someone else’s business, it can be a strategy to achieve your goals. Imagine bowling well and not staying in your lane. In order to get that strike, let’s do the following:

Visualize Success: Get Clarity On The End Game

It’s difficult to reach a destination if you don’t know where it is, what it looks like, or when you’ve reached it. With a clear vision of success, you’re going to be able to inspire yourself and your team to get there. Pick one or maybe two things to go after. Don’t get distracted by the five really cool things that are possible. The one thing is the head pin. If you focus on the other pins first or too early, you won’t be able to maximize your outcome.

To gain clarity, ask yourself questions like: “What are the elements of that success? What is the benefit of reaching that success? What makes you different from competitors? Who is your target market and how you can best meet their needs? What are your strengths and how do you utilize them to stand out?” Pick the end game that gives you the greatest chance of success. You can work on the other cool stuff later.

Determine What’s Important: Focus On The Work That Will Get You There

When standing at the head of the lane and looking at the full set of pins with focus, you’re not worried about the other lanes. You’re focused on that head pin, your grip on the ball, your position in the lane, the number of steps to the foul line, your release, and the spin you want. All of these things are important. To reach your goal, you’re thinking about what needs to be done and how it’s going to get done.

Assess your to-do list and map it against your vision for success. If it doesn’t line up with a component of that vision, really challenge yourself as to whether you should be doing it. We know that some things are necessary, like paperwork. To keep that limited, only do what’s absolutely necessary and see if you can outsource the rest. Someone else can fix the printer. Assign what doesn’t line up as a component of the vision to your “don’t do” list.

Understand What’s Not Important: Don’t Spend Time On Things That Take You Toward The Gutter

When you knock some pins down, you clear the lane. Sometimes dead wood remains. These are the items that need special attention to clear. There are two kinds of dead wood: those that distract you because they have real eventual merit and those that distract you because they are interesting but are not on your visualized path. Keeping a list of the things that you aren’t doing is just as important as keeping the list of the things you are doing. The “don’t do” list comes from the castoffs of the “definitely do” list. Refer back to the list often. It can save you from chasing what won’t yield results.

I had a client who has a great product idea and has built a very stable, useful and necessary application. He has been working for over a year on building the business and getting greater adoption. He wasn’t growing as quickly as he would have liked because he had so many great ideas, target markets and applications for his product. He was stretched too thin. As a result, he was having difficulty making substantial progress in any area.

We decided to regroup and started by working thoughtfully on a crisp vision of success. We thought about the one or two target audiences that most needed this product. We considered which target market had the most potential to buy the product and provide ongoing revenue. We articulated his key points of differentiation. He narrowed his focus to one target market, crafting his marketing and prioritizing product development to meet their specific needs. We created a list of who not to target and which features not to build. This list kept him focused on the prize – more sales and more revenue. As a result, he was able to lead his team, get the job done and eliminate the dead wood. Not surprisingly, his new sales started to explode.

Then we could celebrate his success with some warm hot dogs and cold beer.

Marcy Schwab is the President of Inspired Leadership, a strategy, organizational effectiveness, and executive coaching firm. 

Originally published on Forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/01/09/three-simple-strategies-for-achieving-your-goals/

Images: SBluerock (Flickr); Markus Spiske (Flickr)