“WHAT ARE THE TOP FIVE THINGS, RANKED IN ORDER,
THAT ARE SPECIFIC AND MEASURABLE THAT MADE IT
SUCH A GREAT YEAR?”
they do planning their life.”
I feel very fortunate that in my teenage
years, I had several successful people
in life underscore the importance of
charting my life by the following formula:
a) Put your goals in writing.
b) Don’t pick too many.
c) Hang a date or indicator of
completion on each goal.
d) Design a written plan on the
actions required to achieve each
goal.
e) Measure and record these
actions.
f) Share with others for
accountability.
In effect, it’s how you organize your
view of the future that determines
what the future is. It’s amazing, and
disappointing to hear, that 95% of
people have no written goals. I like
setting the table when working with
others by asking the following big-four
questions:
a) What do you want in life?
b) Why do you want it?
c) When do you want it by?
d) What do you choose to do in
order to achieve it?
My long-term good friend Mark Moses
introduced a great exercise on this very
topic, and one I’ve benefitted greatly
from. He calls it “The Crystal Ball
Exercise.” You look into a crystal ball
and can see into the future to the end
of next year. A great year is ahead of
you! Write down what your future holds
according to the crystal ball:
a) Step One – The year 2017 has
come and gone, and we “rocked”
because we achieved the following
specific and measurable outcomes.
(See www.jackdaly.net in the Life by
Design tab to see my “rocked” for
2017.)
b) Step Two – What are the top five
things, ranked in order, that are
specific and measurable that made
it such a great year? These are the
indicators that led to the result in
step one. (Again, check mine out on
the “rocked” page at www.jackdaly.
net.)
More often, failure in the future is the
result of inadequate imagination in the
present. And so, reality is what you
make of it. It’s all a matter of “drilling
it down.” Take a look. For each of your
goals, identify the various actions that
will bring the goal to completion. On
each goal, ask the following questions
in order to leverage success:
a) What will it take to guarantee
that it happens?
b) What will stand in the way?
c) How will we overcome what
stands in the way?
d) When will it be done?
e) Who owns it?
Destiny is not a matter of chance;
it is a matter of choice. Again, visit
www.jackdaly.net to see my drilled-
down goals, identification of actions,
and my reports to my accountability
team. While these examples are
quite detailed, remember they are a
byproduct of doing this process for
more than fifty years, and as such,
each year has become a little more
specific and measurable. When people
bust my chops about the level of detail
and measurement, I’m reminded of
this quote by George Bernard Shaw:
“People are always blaming their
circumstances for what they are. I don’t
believe in circumstances. The people
who get on in this world are the people
who get and look for the circumstances
they want, and if they can’t find them,
they make them.”
Our journey is determined by the
choices we make. Our answers are
determined by the questions we ask.
Our destination is determined by the
steps we take. Our future is determined
by what we do today.
The time is now to design your magical
life! u
Jack Daly is an expert in corporate culture that inspires audiences to take
action in customer loyalty and personal motivation. He delivers explosive
keynote and general session presentations. Jack brings 30+ years of field
proven experience from a starting base with CPA firm Arthur Andersen to the
CEO level of several national companies. Jack is a proven CEO/Entrepreneur,
having built six companies into national firms, two of which he subsequently
sold to the Wall Street firms of Solomon Brothers and First Boston.
SPRING 2018
| 15