As we continue with Day 6 of our Best Year Yet Blog series, I’m hoping you are experiencing an opening of your heart and mind to what’s possible for you and your business, in the coming year.
This Freedom Planning process is something I’ve used for 30 years to spawn new businesses, inspire innovative ideas and keep me courageously taking action toward my vision. I want that for you as well.
What I love about where we are headed today, is that THIS is where we transform your answers to the 17 questions into a powerful Master List of Projects and Goals for 2019.
Step 1: Using the Master List of Goals & Projects Template, look over your answers to the 17 questions and begin to identify the 12 elements of a powerful plan, described on page 2 of the template. For example, take a specific goal you would like to achieve and ask, “What would need to happen to achieve this goal?” The answer may reveal a project, a promotion or a system you need to put in place to achieve that particular goal.
Step 2: As you begin to fill in the 12 elements of your Master List, it’s wise to edit out the intentions, goals and projects that are either pre-mature or not aligned with what you want the coming year to be. We do this by running those “possible projects” through a series of questions.
The 7 Questions For Conscious Decision Making
- If you have the support and know-how, could this be fun for you?
- Will it give you an opportunity to grow?
- Is it aligned with your core values?
- Will it move you toward your vision?
- Is the possible gain worth the effort and energy you’ll invest?
- Could you execute this without depleting your spirit?
- Is the energy around it expansive or constrictive?
You can either intuitively assess whether it’s a project you want to move forward with or, quantify each question on a scale of 1 to 10: One representing a “no” and ten representing a “yes.”
By the time you get to the last question you will have a numerical score as to whether the goal, project or action should remain in the plan or not. The higher the score the more likely you should include this; while the lower scores will indicate you should consider holding off on this, for now.
The goal for this step is to end up with a first pass at your Master List of Goals & Projects for the coming year.
Following are some insights that I’ve discovered in taking this step for our business and helping clients do the same.
- Keep in mind these 12 elements are designed for thought leaders whose livelihood is centered around sharing their expertise as a coach, consultant, speaker, trainer or author.
- Don’t feel as though you need to have something under each of the 12 elements. This template is designed for thought leaders at all stages of the growth cycle.
- For your Primary Goals, consider setting between 4 and 7 key achievements for the coming year. These may or may not include total revenues, list growth, programs launched, number of clients served, frequency of speaking and so on.
- The systems you want to put in place and the people you want to add to your team will be revealed by answering the question, “What would need to happen to achieve this goal?”
- Give this step the time it deserves! Consciously deciding what you want next year to hold for you and your business is a wise investment of your time. Make it a priority.
- Don’t get bogged down in the process. This Master List of Goals & Projects is a living and breathing document that will evolve over time.
Behind the Curtain with Jane and her team…
The creating of our Master List for 2019 has sparked both self-reflection and a number of meaningful conversations with my team.
“Do we really feel that this is the year for that project?”
“Do we have the capacity to add this to our list of projects?”
“If we include this, what else do we need to let go of, given our current capacity?”
“Would adding a new team member to help with X, enable us to take this project on?”
These are a few of the questions we asked ourselves, on this vision crafting process, that I hope will inspire you to consciously plan for your best year yet.
Thank you for reading this blog. My team and I want to know what this has sparked within you. Please post a comment or reach out directly at janed@janedeuber.com. We are listening!
*If you have not grabbed my Quick Start Guide To Planning Your Best Year Yet, you can do that here.
You’ll notice that we give you the option of picking up the blog series wherever we are, or starting at the beginning. My recommendation is the latter. By looking to the past to inform your future you will be better equipped to create a vision and a plan to make these next 12 months, your best year yet.
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