The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months

by Brian P. Moran

As a result, your weekly scorecard is the most accurate predictor of your future.

That is why the scorecard only measures your execution and not your results.

Too many managers mistakenly think about measurement as accountability.

Measurement is not accountability; it’s simply feedback.

You know you have ownership when associates measure and track their own metrics.

Everything you need to effectively coach your people to higher performance and more consistent results is available through the 12 Week Year.

One of those items is the weekly scorecard. As a manager, you’ll want to check in with how your direct reports are scoring on a weekly basis.

By inquiring about their weekly scores, you can know immediately if someone is at risk.

Pitfall 1: You think that measurement is complicated or unimportant.

Pitfall 2: You don’t schedule a block of time each week to assess your progress.

Pitfall 3: You abandon the system when you don’t score well.

Tip 1: Review your weekly score with a buddy or a small group of peers each week.

Tip 2: Commit to make progress each week.

A weekly score that is increasing is a positive sign that bodes well for succeeding with your goals.

Tip 3: Remember that a weekly score of less than 85 percent isn’t necessarily bad.

Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to confront what your numbers are telling you.

As Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “Eventually everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.”

What will be served at my banquet of consequences?

Unique capabilities are one or two things you do absolutely the best. They also tend to be the things that you enjoy doing.

Effective time use is one of the five disciplines of the 12 Week Year. In combination with the other four—vision, planning, process control, and scorekeeping—it is part of the proven 12 Week Year execution system.

there are three components that form the foundation of effective time use; they are: strategic blocks, buffer blocks, and breakout blocks. Each of these three time blocks is designed to help you accomplish key activities more efficiently.

Strategic blocks are three hours in length and should be scheduled early in your week so that if one gets interrupted or cancelled, you have time to reschedule it. They are blocks of time when you work on your business, not in it. Strategic blocks should also be scheduled during times when your work activity is typically lowest. One strategic block per week is usually adequate.

Buffer blocks are designed to deal with the lower-level activity and are typically between 30 minutes and one hour in length, scheduled one to two times per day.

Breakout blocks are designed to prevent burnout and create more free time. They are three hours in length, and should be scheduled once a week—after the rest of the 12 Week Year is working for you. We recommend that you only have one per month until everything else is working, and you are executing well.

Following are suggested agendas for strategic and buffer blocks. The agendas will help you leverage these critical time blocks more effectively.

Strategic Block—Sample Agenda, 3 Hours

Reconnect with your vision: 5-10 minutes.

12 week review: 10-15 minutes.

Assess performance breakdowns: 10-20 minutes.

Work on plan tactics: 2–2.5 hours.

Buffer Block—Sample Agenda, 30 to 60 Minutes Review and respond to email. Listen to voicemail and respond as needed. Make necessary outbound calls. Follow up on to-do list items. Take quick meetings with staff to answer questions or to plan follow-up. Organize and file work in process and completed items. Identify any new to-do list items and record.

In the final analysis, many of our clients value others’ time above their own.

It seems like common sense to think that you have to work proportionally harder to earn more, but that kind of thinking is exactly what limits what you can accomplish in life.

Tip 1: Work from a written weekly plan.

Tip 2: Input your model week into your calendar.

Accountability, on the other hand, allows you to gain control of your life, to shape your destiny, and to fulfill your potential.

The fact of the matter is that successful people are accountable.

Accountability is not concerned with fault, but rather what it takes to create better results.

What you control is how you respond. Being accountable is not easy, and at times it is very unpleasant, but if you are serious about your goals, you must take ownership of your situation.

1. Resolve never to be the victim again. You cannot achieve a life of significance if you continue to give your power away.

2. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Feeling sorry for yourself produces nothing but self-pity and, if you do enough of it, depression.

3. Be willing to take different actions. If you want different results, then you need to be willing to do things differently and do different things.

4. Associate with “Accountables.” There is a proverb that says, “He who walks with the wise grows wise.”

Accountability is not consequences; it’s ownership.

Imagine a scenario where the culture of your company embraces accountability.

Accountability cannot be imposed, demanded, or coerced. It is an inevitable outgrowth of freedom. As leaders try to hold their people accountable, it puts people on the defensive and unintentionally produces a victim culture.

Become aware of victim conversations. Take notice of how you and others in your organization talk about failure.

Model accountability. Actions speak louder than words. If you want others to be accountable, then demonstrate accountability in action.

Clarify expectations. Accountability starts with clear expectations. Knowing what is expected is fundamental to individual and organizational accountability.

Focus on the future. Accountability is not about the past, but about the future.