The WHIRLWIND According to Covey
Per franklincovey.com: Every year, organizations spend more than $30 billion on strategy creation – and more than 80% of those strategies fail. Per medium.com: 80% of people who make New Year’s resolutions will have failed them by the second week of February.
So, what is the problem? Why do our resolutions, goals, strategies ROUTINELY fail? FranklinCovey blames it on the WHIRLWIND. (shortform.com/blog/4dx-whirlwind)
…the whirlwind is the distraction created by urgent, day-to-day operations. Instead of focusing on the importance of the long-term goal, you get swept up in urgency…
…the whirlwind takes up so much energy and focus that people don’t have the energy or time left over to do new things.
Does the whirlwind only pertain to business? I contend that it does NOT – or at least I can say that I live in a whirlwind. The never-ending onslaught of shopping, cooking, cleaning…laundry…bill paying…work…house upkeep and maintenance… I’d like to include going to church, working out, dating my wife to the list – but those, unfortunately, are not on my current whirlwind list. Next thing you know, you’re watching the 10:00PM news and getting ready for bed – to be ready to address the whirlwind in the morning.
So - is it WORTH setting GOALS or RESOLUTIONS? What can be done to increase the odds of GOAL success?
Is it WORTH setting GOALS or RESOLUTIONS? YES – but life must be lived, with the whirlwind around us, with the time and energy left for achieving our goals, lest we be included in Thoreau’s mass of men (who live lives of quiet desperation and go to their grave with their song still in them).
What can be done to increase the odds of GOAL success?
FranklinCovey.com/the-4-disciplines suggests incorporating The 4 Disciplines of Execution into your organization – I suggested adding the 4 Disciplines into your LIFE!
1. Focus on the Wildly Important – pick the 3-4-5 (?) things that are important to YOU. What you want to a achieve this ‘year’ (you fill in the timeframe).
2. Act on the Lead Measures – quarterly (or monthly???), what do you want to achieve towards you Wildly Important goal.
3. Keep a Compelling Scorecard – weekly identify how you are doing against your quarterly or monthly goal.
4. Create a Cadence of Accountability – have an accountability partner and catch up weekly.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution have helped countless businesses be successful – but is it groundbreaking? I argue this is the recipe (pardon the pun) of Weight Watchers.
· Set a weight loss goal
· Break the total weight loss down to monthly chunks
· Keep track of your progress – consumption, exercise, etc.
· “Weigh In” weekly with a support group
Its tried and true. IF you follow the Weight Watcher plan your odds of weight loss are great – similarly, IF you DON’T follow the plan, the negative results are likely too. I can proudly yet humbly say – I have intentionally followed this discipline this past year and I had a great and transformative year. I wrote down quarterly and monthly goals – broke them down into a weekly action plan - and had a weekly accountability meeting with my accountability friends. It works! It is not easy – the whirlwind is always there…always ready to pull you into the chaos of life and away from the life you want to live.
So, the big question – how do you achieve your Wildly Important goals while being consumed by the Whirlwind? I will pass on some thoughts in follow up POSTs.
- First Things First
- Quadrant 2 Living
- Goal Setting – Top Down or Bottom Up?
- Why Goals Fail… the Geekiest Explanation Possible