610-793-6609 michael@achievable.com

The Right Questions Lead You to the Right Vision

Nov 10, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Goal Setting, Strategic Planning, Success

How has your vision changed for your business and personal life over the past few months? Have you taken the time to think about how the current pandemic and economic turmoil has impacted this vision? Is it the same as it was before or completely different? Hellen Keller once said “The only thing worse than being blind is having no vision.” Even though we cannot completely know what will happen tomorrow or even five minutes from now, it is important to have a detailed image in our minds of what we want to achieve in the long-term. This may change and this is ok, too. But we must always be able to imagine how achieving our goals will look to us and the world around us. We might also imagine how it might feel to achieve those goals and how we might benefit the people in our communities.

A business vision is a crystal-clear image of the future we wish to create. It describes what our company aspires to be and how the world could be impacted, hopefully positively, by our company’s actions. If we want to consistently move toward our vision, we must know what it is, inside and out. We can ask ourselves questions to better understand this vision and in doing so, we can gain clarity on how to achieve it.

There are two main types of questions we can ask, inward questions and outward questions. Inward questions allow us to discover information about ourselves and our business. Some examples of inward questions include:

What do we do best?

 What are our strengths?

What is an ideal organization and how can we be that organization?

How do we want to influence the world around us?

Outward questions lead us to uncover information about our industry and customers. Some examples include:

How is our industry changing?

What is our competition doing in response to market changes?

What are we hearing from customers about their needs?

If you answer these questions you will have a solid jumpstart on developing a vision for your business that takes into account today’s reality and consumer needs. If you want to continue building this vision and begin designing a strategy to achieve it, join the FAST TRACK Challenge beginning November 16th. Click Here for more information.

I Challenge You!

Nov 9, 2020 | Goal Setting, Strategic Planning, Success

I hope you have received my hints that creating a strategic plan is critical to your success in business and in life. If you have not or if you do not believe me, think about what Jim Rohn said, “Success is 20% skills and 80% strategy. You might know how to succeed, but more importantly, what’s your plan to succeed?” The end of 2020 is nearing and there is no better time to set aside some “think time” and create a plan for 2021.

Do you know what you want to achieve in 2021? Do you have a clear and specific, written plan for how you are going to achieve those goals? Do you think you could benefit from LIVE coaching on developing your plan? I will be hosting the Fast Track Strategic Plan Challenge with Marc Daniels, CEO of ResultsBI, beginning November 16th. Over 5 days in one hour zoom sessions, we will walk you through creating a strategic plan for your company. Here is a brief glimpse of what we will go over in those 5 days.

Day 1 – Vision: It all starts with your vision. Where are you going? Why are you doing this? What really matters most to you? What are your core values?

Day 2 – Foundation: Who is your target market? When you get this right, it provides context for all you do. Who are you speaking to in your marketing efforts? What is your brand? How are you positioned in your market?

Day 3- Long-Term: We will cover two well-known analyses that will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of your market and help you identify your strategic moves: 5 Competitive Forces & PEST Analyses. Have you taken a look at your competition recently? Do you know what they are doing to overcome the current challenges faced by your industry? Have you defined your Long-Term Strategic Moves?

Day 4 – SWOT: We will discuss the old standard SWOT Analyses and go over the SWaTOL for leveraging trends and identifying strategic projects.

Day 5 – Execution: What does it mean to be an Effective Execution Leader?

Larry Bossidy is quoted as saying, “Execution is the ability to mesh strategy with reality, align people with goals, and achieve the promised results.” Are you ready to stand up to this challenge?

Over the next few weeks, I will dive into greater detail about some of the topics mentioned today but now is the time to start thinking about the answers to the questions I presented to you and maybe even write those answers down. If you want to find out more about the Fast Track Strategic Plan Challenge, click here. Space is limited and registration closes November 14th.

3 Great Questions to Help Drive Your Strategic Plan

Oct 23, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Strategic Planning

Most of us are driven by operational inertia and default to doing what we’ve done previously. However, you already know that to get a different result, you need to do something differently.

In the case of strategic planning, the strength of the plan is determined by our current level of thinking and we are often inhibited by our cognitive blind spots. We need to do whatever we can to break through our self-imposed limitations! When working on your strategic plan, you want to think outside the box by creating new and innovative action steps to achieve our most desired goals.

All progress in our lives requires that we go against some kind of “gravitational” system. Gravity in this sense means the forces that hold us in place. Basically, inertia keeps us doing the same things over and over again.  There are forces, especially our current thinking,  that prevent us from moving or changing our position. But it is important to remember what Einstein once said, “We cannot solve our current problems with the mindset that created them.”

What drives our current thinking? Ironically, the answer is QUESTIONS! People think by asking themselves questions and giving themselves answers (or finding answers for those questions). Ask a bad question and you’ll get a bad answer. People say there are no bad questions, but in strategic planning, you have to ask yourself specific questions that will lead you to the answer you want to achieve. If you want to have a great plan, then you need to ask and answer a series of great questions.

The quality of the questions we ask ourselves and our teams accounts for virtually 100% of the quality of the answers we receive.  The brain is a brilliant servant and it will find an answer to any question you ask of it.

Ask yourself and your teams empowering questions like these:

  1. “What could we do to disrupt to our industry?”

 

  1. “What could we do that would make a real significant difference between us and our competitors?”

 

  1. “What are the unintended consequences of our current strategy that we should change?”

Perhaps you have been busy working in your business, but now realize it is time to work on your business. If you have not done a strategic plan for next year, right now is the right time. Join the Fast Track Challenge beginning November 16th. Click here for more information.

 

Clarity is the Antidote to Uncertainty

Sep 23, 2020 | CEOs, Goal Setting, Leadership, Strategic Planning, Success

We are living in crazy times and the levels of uncertainty are at an all-time high. Then, throw in the media blast telling us that the world is going to hell in a handbasket and our situation seems much worse than it is. I am not minimizing the pandemic or the challenges we are being presented; however we have to take charge of our lives and look for the opportunities we can capitalize on. We CAN come through this storm BETTER than where we started.

I was just reading about Rockefeller in his early days in business –  the economy was in a recession and he took advantage of opportunities all around him. In every adversity there is an equal or greater benefit to be found. What are the obstacles that you are facing in your business today?  Have you met with your team to brainstorm ways to overcome the obstacles?

All of our decisions are based on assumptions/beliefs. Have we checked those beliefs against current reality  to see if they are real or not? Two business owners, facing similar obstacles, different decisions. Why? Because their beliefs/assumptions are different. So, whenever you’re facing an obstacle, one of the smartest things you can do is challenge your assumptions. Ask yourself why  you believe what you believe.

What’s the Cost of Doing Nothing? In general, most of the business owners I’ve met aren’t very good at calculating opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is involved in every decision we make daily because whenever we’re saying, “Yes” to one thing, we’re saying, “No,” to something else. This is the number one reason you want to have extreme clarity around your strategy, your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal, Jim Collins, Good to Great), your purpose and your core values. Once you have clarity around these issues you can start to make better decisions.

One of the ways of solving any problem is to get a different perspective. As soon as we ask questions of ourselves and of our teams our brains will go to work and come up with an answer. One of the best ways to ask that question is to imagine that you’re someone else and then ask how you think you (being that person) would solve this problem. For example, if you were Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Thomas Edison, Elon Musk, Howard Shultz or Sheryl Sandberg.  Pick the person and ask: “If ______ were in my Shoes, how would he/she solve this problem or overcome this obstacle?”

Most strategies fail because of lack of execution, being driven by the tyranny of the urgent, being pulled by the inertia of daily operations.  Don’t let that happen to you.

How Important is it for You to Get the Next 6 Months Right?

Sep 17, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Goal Setting, Leadership, Leadership Development, Strategic Planning, Success

In light of everything that has happened so far this year, what your going to do intentionally to ensure that the next months of 2020 are a success for you and your business? Do you have a clear and specific, written plan of action? Are you ready and equipped to thrive in the months ahead instead of simply surviving from crisis to crisis?

Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.” Creating a plan and leaving it on a shelf to collect dust, never reviewing it or adapting it to changes in your market or the current economy is absolutely useless. Plans are meant to be revisited and refreshed and often your goals may need to be realigned. We are certainly not able to predict everything that is going to happen but if we are committed to planning, we will be more likely to thrive regardless of what happens.

Our plans are the framework for success. Even if we have to rewrite them, they will keep us on track toward achieving our core purpose. Lewis Carroll said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” So, know where you are going and be willing to do what it takes to get there. Are you willing to set the time aside you need to plan for the future? Are you willing to do this routinely? How important is it for you, really, to get the next 6 months right? Do you have the team to help you get there? Are you developing your leaders? Are you working on your own personal and professional development?

The time is now! Don’t wait any longer!

If you are ready and willing to do what it takes join our Fast Track Strategic Plan Challenge beginning September 21, 2020 at 12 PM. Spaces are limited, so sign up today by clicking here.

5 Steps Toward Business Success

Sep 10, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Leadership, Strategic Planning, Success

When running a small business, you face new challenges every day and your greatest resources are stretched and limited: time, effort and energy.  Business leaders who want to be successful need to rise above the urgent and focus on what’s most critical: the tough, strategic decisions that will drive your business forward and grow it faster. The more your business grows the more time you need invest in real quality think time.

 

Are you ready to finally have the freedom you want to focus on what really matters most in your life and business? You can start by following these steps:

  • Create A Strategic Plan: What is your vision and how are you going to achieve it? Without a clear vision, a well-defined purpose and a specific plan of action – you will be like a hamster on a wheel running in circles and never reaching a destination.
  • Share – Involve Your Team: Inspire your team with your vision and provide them with the information they need about your plan on a consistent basis. What is their role, what are their individual goals and how are you going to support them in achieving those goals? Solicit feedback and listen to what your team is saying. You want them to know that they are valued and important and what they say matters.
  • Track — Create Key Performance Indicators and monitor progress toward your goals. Remember to communicate this progress with your team.
  • Execute – Meet with your team in person or remotely on a regular basis. Meetings are where you drive execution, create accountability, and identify and resolve issues that are standing in the way of success.
  • ​Repeat — Quarterly Strategic Planning: Quarterly Strategic Planning is where you review your progress. Talk about what worked last quarter and what did not work. After evaluating the previous quarter, adjust and re-align your goals and plans if needed.

Are you ready to find clarity and have laser-like focus on your goals to get the results you want?  If so, join My Fast Track Strategic Plan Challenge. Click Here for more information.    +