Success Strategies-How To Get Off On The Right Track

Success strategies; ever Googled it? I know I have. It’s pretty popular! We are all looking for that elusive guide on how to live a successful life, though the truth is it helps if you start off on the right track.

Deciding to set out on the pursuit of some ‘thing’ is a brave decision. Really. Many people never make that kind of decision. They think about what they might like to have, they ponder the current problem from many angles (invariably where they are always the innocent party) and then dip their toe in the water to see what might happen.

At the first sign of trouble or resistance, they back off and look for something else. Recognise any of these elements, in others and yourself? Yes, let’s be honest we’ve all been here. Does it get you where you want to be though? Well, it didn’t work for me, so I found something else, and this does.
Feeling brave and want to make a real decision and go for something that matters to you? In this article, I will share the 3 steps to setting OFF for success.

Step 1 Outcome – Know what you want.

Outcome, goal, objective – these are all ways of describing the overall place you want to be after a period of time and undertaking several actions or tasks. Think about what you really want / where you want to be? When you have that, think about it in more detail, put some flesh on the bones. Your mind really enjoys and benefits from exploring the various permutations of what your outcome might be like. Some of these permutations will make you go “mmmm” and others “yuck”. This is important information and enables you to set off down the road with more purpose.

Having met many people who don’t achieve what they want a common factor is not being specific enough about where they want to be e.g. “I want to grow the business by 10%.” What’s wrong with this you might ask? Well, what time period are we talking about – 6 months or 2 years? And what specific element of the business do they want to grow, or perhaps it really is all of their business. It’s easy when we set ambiguous goals like this without any further thought to either miss them and have lots of reasons why or to fudge the data so that we hit our goal.

Preparation is an important element of achieving what you want. So what are your options? Spend 2 minutes thinking about it, 20 minutes doing it and 2 years learning and recovering from it? Nope, didn’t think that would appeal. When I begin coaching my clients we spend a good 30 minutes exploring what the goal might be.

A few key components include:-

Where do you want to be – What is your desired endpoint or situation? Explore the options and get excited about your goal. If you find it hard to get enthused about achieving your goal at this point then how much effort are you really going to put into getting there?

Where are you now – What is your current reality? (and be really honest, the only person you’re deceiving otherwise is yourself)

What is your strategy for moving forwards – How are you going to get from current reality to your desired future?

When do you want to have achieved your outcome by?

Step 2 Feedback – Learn from your results

Every time we do something we get a result, this may or may not be the desired result. Through paying attention to what we do, and what we get back, then we can ascertain what works, what we could do more of, and what we need to change. Not all results will be desired and certainly, not everyone knows how to give you feedback on your results in a way that is helpful. However, that doesn’t mean we should just dismiss the feedback as rubbish (tempting though it is).

So what should you be paying attention to when you’re undertaking any change?

In a nutshell, what you say, how you say it, how you behave, and your physiology. Then you also need to factor in how other people respond to whatever you’re doing.

You have 5 senses through which you gather all information. Your eyes and ears, your feelings/emotions, taste and smell, the first 3 senses being the most prominent. None of us operate in isolation, for every action, there is a reaction. Stay awake, pay attention. If you don’t pay attention when you experience an increasing amount of pain until finally, you do pay attention.

Equally, when you get feedback from others, listen to what they have to say. Then distill from it the helpful things which enable you to grow.

Step 3 Flexibility

If you keep on doing the same thing the same way then you’ll probably get the same result. Absolutely great if you’re getting what you want. Otherwise, you need to integrate the learnings you have from the feedback you’re getting and develop alternative ways of moving forward.

Life is an experiment, with only one guarantee, at some point we’ll die. As long as you believe your new options will harm no one then play, experiment and pay attention to what happens. Who is the richer person, someone with only one option or someone with 5 options to choose from? By choosing other approaches, communication styles, and deciding on your attitude, the better your results will be.

What do you do next?

Pick an outcome that you’ve been working on or wanting for some time, but which just isn’t coming along as you hoped.

Write down a clear definition of what it is that you’re after; get as specific as you can.

Next, ask yourself if you are paying attention to all forms of feedback. What is this situation telling you and what are you doing about it?

Now based on all of this, develop at least three new strategies for achieving your outcome.

Finally, and most importantly choose one to execute and notice what happens.

Enjoy your experiment!

Thanks,

Ruth

About blue pea POD

Time is a precious commodity, and you don’t want to waste it or any other resources trialling various programmes to see what might have content and insights that work for you.

Leadership can feel like a lonely role especially in times of high change and uncertainty, and it’s good to have a sounding board and someone with experience of leadership and business.

Maybe there are challenges you want to resolve and goals you want to achieve right now?

Our VIP ½ day or 1-day coaching and mentoring package are designed to give you the confidence, clarity and action plan you need to get the desired results you want.

Spend ½ – 1 day with Ruth (either in person or on the phone) and move from chaos to clarity. To discover if this is the right investment for you at this moment in your leadership journey contact us and we’ll arrange a conversation.