Getting Results Magazine Getting Results Magazine Spring 2018 | Page 15

“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