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“If we did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” —Thomas Edison
most of us have two lives: the lives we live and the lives we are capable of living.
You’ve no doubt heard the saying knowledge is power. I disagree. Knowledge is only powerful if you use it, if you act on it.
great ideas are worthless unless they are implemented.
Execution is the single greatest market differentiator. Great companies and successful individuals execute better than their competition. The barrier standing between you and the life you are capable of living is a lack of consistent execution. Effective execution will set you free. It is the path to accomplish the things you desire.
Think about the areas in your life where you’ve fallen short, accomplished less than you desire, or less than you feel you’re capable of. In each of those scenarios, if you look critically, the breakdown is most often in the execution.
Most people know how to get back in shape—eat better, exercise more—they just don’t do it. It’s not a knowledge problem; it’s an execution problem.
Our experience has shown that most people have the capacity to double or triple their income just by consistently applying what they already know. Despite this, people continue to chase new ideas thinking that the next idea is the one that will magically make it all better.
Ann focused on improving her execution by doing what she had already been doing, just doing it more steadily. By consistently executing the critical few tasks and strategies that most supported her success, she was able to create a huge increase—and all of this without working longer hours.
“It’s not what you know; it’s not even who you know; it’s what you implement that counts.”
In this book, we will show you how to substantially increase your current results, lower your stress, build your confidence, and feel better about yourself. Not by working harder, but by focusing on the activities that matter most, maintaining a sense of urgency to get those things done, and shedding the low-value activity that keeps you stuck.
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” —John Wooden
Most people, and most organizations for that matter, don’t lack ideas. Whether they’re effective marketing techniques, sales ideas, cost-cutting measures, or customer service enhancements, there are always more ideas than you can effectively implement. The breakdown is not in knowing, but in applying.
“You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.” —Henry Ford
They set annual goals, created annual plans, and in many cases broke the goals down into quarterly, monthly, and sometimes even weekly plans. But in the end, they evaluated their success annually. The trap is what we call annualized thinking.
At the heart of annualized thinking is an unspoken belief that there is plenty of time in the year to make things happen. In January, December looks a long way off.
The fact is every week counts! Every day counts! Every moment counts! We need to be conscious of the reality that execution happens daily and weekly, not monthly or quarterly.
In order to perform at your best you will need to get out of the annual mode and scrub your annualized thinking. Stop thinking in terms of a year; instead focus on shorter time frames.
The annual execution cycle blinds people to the reality that life is lived in the moment and that ultimately success is created in the moment. It lulls people into believing that they can put things off—critical activity—and still accomplish what they desire, still achieve their goals.
“There’s nothing like a deadline to get you motivated.”
It is amazing what happens when people have a goal and a deadline.
Year-end is certainly a rousing time in most industries. Activity is up and people are focused. With little time to waste and with clear objectives to meet, workers focus on the critical projects and opportunities. Tasks that are not directly related to driving results are pushed aside for what really matters in the short-term.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” —Aristotle
It’s important to understand that the results you achieve are a direct byproduct of the actions you take. Your actions, in turn, are manifestations of your underlying thinking. Ultimately, it is your thinking that drives your results; it is your thinking that creates your experiences in life.
Figure 2.1 Your results are ultimately a manifestation of your thinking.
The 12 Week Year creates a new endgame date for you to assess your success (or lack thereof). The great thing about having a 12 Week Year is that the deadline is always near enough that you never lose sight of it. It provides a time horizon that is long enough to get things done, yet short enough to create a sense of urgency and a bias for action. It’s human nature that we behave differently when a deadline approaches. We procrastinate less, we reduce or eliminate avoidance activity, and we focus more on the things that matter.
The 12 Week Year also forces you to confront your lack of execution. After all, how many bad weeks can you have in a 12 Week Year and still have a great year? Since you can’t afford to have more than one or two bad weeks, every day of the week automatically becomes more important. The 12 Week Year narrows your focus to the week and, more to the point, the day, which is where execution occurs. You no longer have the luxury of putting off the critical activities, imagining that there is plenty of time left in the year.
Every 12 weeks you get a fresh start—a new year! So if you’ve had a tough 12 Week Year you can just shake it off, regroup, and start again. If you’ve had a strong 12 Week Year you can build on that momentum. Either way, every 12 weeks is a new start.
And just like you do at the end of a calendar year, every 12 weeks you take a break, celebrate, and reload. It might be a three-day weekend or a weeklong vacation; the important thing is that you take time out to reflect, regroup, and reenergize.
We have found from experience that to execute successfully it is essential to have a strong emotional stake in the outcome.
The secret to living your life to its potential is to value the important stuff above your own comfort. Therefore, the critical first step to executing well is creating and maintaining a compelling vision of the future that you want even more than you desire your own short-term comfort, and then aligning your shorter term goals and plans, with that long-term vision.
Think about what you truly want to achieve. What legacy do you want to create? What do you want for yourself and for your family? What do you want spiritually? What level of security do you seek? What level of income and fulfillment do you want from your career? What interests do you wish you could pursue? What do you really want to do with the time you have been allotted? If you are going to perform at a high level, take new ground, and be great, then you better have a vision that is compelling.
Without a compelling vision, you will discover there is no reason to go through the pain of change.
“Behind every impossible achievement is a dreamer of impossible dreams.” —Robert K. Greenleaf
Vision is the starting point of all high performance. You create things twice; first mentally, then physically. The biggest barrier to high performance is not the physical manifestation but the mental creation. You will never outpace your mental models. Vision is the first place where you engage your thinking about what is possible for you.
In order to tap the incredible power of your vision you need a future that is bigger than the present. If you’re going to create a breakthrough—if you’re going to reach the next level—you will need to move through fear, uncertainty, and discomfort. It is your personal vision that keeps you in the game when things become difficult.
A compelling personal vision creates passion. Think about something that you are passionate about, and you will always find a clear vision behind it. If you find you’re lacking passion in either your business or in a relationship, it’s not a crisis of passion; it’s a crisis of vision.
“All my life I wanted to be somebody. Now I see I should have been more specific.” —Lily Tomlin
The first step is to create a personal vision, a vision that clearly captures and articulates what you want in life. The personal vision should define the life you want to live in all areas, including spiritual, relationships, family, income, lifestyle, health, and community. The personal vision creates the foundation for an emotional link to your business and career objectives so that there is a strong alignment between what you pursue in your business and the life you desire to live.
Your business vision is most powerful when it is developed in light of your personal vision. The reason so many people fail to follow through when things become difficult is due to this lack of connection with their personal lives. Your business objectives are not the end in themselves, but the means to an end. Too often, managers and associates plan for business success but fail to connect with the real power source that will enable them to achieve that success. In essence, the personal vision is the reason why we work in the first place.
When you start to envision a future that stretches your comfort zone and is significantly bigger and bolder than what you are currently living, the amygdala tries to shut down the process before you do anything that could be detrimental.
That’s the bad news. At one level we are all wired to resist change and postpone greatness. The good news is there is also a portion of your brain, called the prefrontal cortex (PFC) that acts as a counterbalance to the amygdala. The PFC lights up when you look out over open vistas, and interestingly, when you imagine greatness for yourself in the future. Scientists can track increased electrical impulses in the PFCs of test subjects when they think about a compelling future.
Research has also shown that our brains have a powerful capacity to change.
This capacity for our brains to change is called neuroplasticity. Here’s why it’s such a big deal: Your brain has the ability to change and develop physiologically, and it does so based on how you use it.
you can change your brain simply by what you think about. You have the ability to strengthen and develop your brain by thinking about a compelling future for yourself, by regularly and repeatedly thinking about an inspiring vision where you emotionally connect with the life you desire.
when you think about a compelling vision, the neurons that fire in your brain are the same neurons that fire when you act on your vision. What that means is that you can literally train your brain to act on your vision just by thinking about it. The first step, though, is creating an inspiring vision and learning how to stay connected with it.
“A vision without a plan is a pipe dream.”
Having a plan to achieve your vision and your professional goals is even more essential than having a map to navigate a cross-country trek. Yet the sad truth is that most individuals spend more time planning a trip than they do planning their business.
Working from a plan has three distinct benefits: 1. It reduces mistakes. 2. It saves time. 3. It provides focus.
Planning allows you to think through in advance the best approach to achieving your goals. You make your mistakes on paper, which reduces miscues during implementation. In addition, studies have shown that planning saves significant time and resources. This may seem paradoxical. In fact, many people feel that if they are not constantly doing, they are not productive. The reality is that planning is some of the most productive time you can have.
